MIRI: Piasau assemblyman Alan Ling Sie Kiong revisited the scene of the bushfire located north of Miri.
From information given by the Department of Environment recently, the air in the area surrounding Miri Industrial Training Institute in Permyjaya, north of Miri had reached an alarming Air Pollutant Index (API) of 245 – the highest in the country.
“If the ongoing hazard is not solved swiftly, it will have a dire effect on the health of nearby residents and the education of the students of the institutes nearby,” said Ling who paid a visit to the site of the bushfire which had spread dangerously close to the institute.
The API had shot up by almost 100 points from the previous 152, which put Miri in the “very unhealthy” zone.
Ling noted that there were still specks of fire across the landscape that contributed to the haze and caused distress to nearby residents.
A worker there had commented to him that though the fire seemed to be extinguished, the fire underground will resurface if they did not water the ground continuously.
“The haze may also affect air traffic in Miri and eventually disrupt relevant industries such as tourism,” he said.
Taking the livelihood of the residents there into consideration, Ling suggested the fire department seek reinforcement from areas not affected by bushfire, and if necessary, use helicopters for rapid fire control.