Wildfires in Chiang Mai remain not under control

Two districts in Chiang Mai where wildfires have been raging for the last two weeks have been declared disaster zones while local authorities struggle to bring the blazes under control.

Nirat Phongsittithaworn, the governor of Chiang Mai, said Monday that five sub-districts in the districts of Chiang Dao and Omkoi had been declared disaster areas and that emergency relief measures and wildfire monitoring were being intensified. The chief of the general staff of the military, Gen. Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, justified the action as necessary to assist soldiers and other state officials patrolling hotspots and deterring, capturing and prosecuting violators.

These measures would help contain the wildfires, while enabling and speeding up rescue operations, Mr Nirat said.

The Chiang Dao district wildfires began on March 12 and affected 17 villages in Chiang Dao and Ping Khong sub-districts.

Fires in Omkoi district started on March 14 and have impacted five villages in Yang Piang, Mae Tuen and Mon Chong sub-districts.

As of Monday, haze from the wildfires was affecting Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lamphun and Mae Hong Son, according to the Environment and Pollution Control Office.

Many regions in these four northern provinces experienced a high level of PM2. 5, it said.

In certain zones of Chiang Mai’s Muang, Chiang Dao and Hod districts, the ultrafine dust was deemed destructive to health, with PM2. 5 thresholds between 83.3 to 90 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m3).

(The situation in neighbouring Lamphun’s Muang and Li districts and Mae Hong Son’s Muang and Pai districts was even worse, where dust levels ranged from 89.5 to 110.2 μg/m3).

Fifty-seven provinces, including Bangkok, were categorized as experiencing high levels of PM2. 5 dust levels Monday morning.

High levels of PM2. Five were reported in the North, the Northeast, the Central Plains and the East, with lesser quantities in the South.

The highest dust level was in Bueng Kan with 146.2µg/m³, followed by Nong Khai (131.5), Loei (121.3), Nan (118.1), Phrae (117.6), Mae Hong Son (114.1), Lampang (106.4), Sing Buri (105.4), Uttaradit (104.2), Nong Bua Lam Phu (104), Chai Nat (103.8), Udon Thani (103.5), Phitsanulok (103.4), Phayao (103) and Sukhothai (102.9) and Bangkok (99.7).