KUCHING: Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) said the rain on Wednesday night made easy their task of putting out forest fires on two mountains in Kampung Skiat, near Jalan Jambusan here yesterday.
Its Kuching Zone head Tiong Ling Hii said he was thankful for the helping hand from Mother Nature.
He said they then quenched the smouldering flames by spraying water obtained from Sungai Ulu Siniawan and several water catchments nearby.
“We were fortunate because on Wednesday night, it rained over the area and this helped us to put out the fire naturally. However this left small patches of fire here and there that would not spread quickly,” he said.
Bomba had planned to deploy helicopters to drop water bombs on the fire. However the plan was aborted and deemed unnecessary yesterday after heavy rain poured over the area on Wednesday night.
He said 11 firefighters from Bau Fire Station were despatched to the scene after they received a call on forest fire around 4.30pm on Sunday.
The fire which spread to 15 acres of Gunung Doya and 30 acres of Gunung Kawa could have started from open burning at Doya. The one at Kawa is still being investigated. The tactic used involved setting up a fire breaker to prevent the fire spreading to the nearby oil palm smallholding and small commercial gardens.
Liong said several personnel from Bau Fire Station, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Environment Board were stationed at the site to monitor the situation.
He said they managed to control a bush fire at Pulau Lakei, Bako which is part of Bako National Park, and are investigating what caused it.