The poor condition of the forest roads and the network hinder the elimination of forest fires, the State Forest Service (SFS) admitted to LETA.
The Service explained that the fire that took place on June 23 in “Ances Purvi un meži”, as a result of which an area of 7.8 hectares of forest land burned down, once again confirmed the great importance of orderly fire protection infrastructure in quick and effective elimination of forest fires. The 23-kilometer-long section from the highway to the scene of the fire was driven by VMD fire-fighting equipment for more than an hour, due to the poor technical condition of the natural carriageway.
The service also emphasized that more than four hours elapsed between the receipt of the information on the fire and the start of the firefighting work.
At the same time, the representatives of the service said that, in general, the actions of the SFS in the operative detection of forest fires and commencement of extinguishing works are effective, which is confirmed by the fact that 85% of extinguished forest fires are up to one hectare. However, inadequate fire protection infrastructure, such as the absence of forest roads, overgrown and clogged natural carriageways, makes it difficult to extinguish forest fires quickly, which can lead to uncontrolled forest fires over large areas, endangering the health and lives of the population.
SFS calls on forest owners and legal managers to maintain forest roads in good technical condition so that the service can react quickly and start firefighting.
It has already been reported that on the night of June 23, a fire of several hectares broke out in the Ances bogs and forests of the Ventspils region nature reserve.
Three tankers were working at the scene, as well as SUVs equipped with extinguishing equipment.
The place is difficult to reach, but the firefighters were helped by the thunderstorm.
The SFS is a public administration institution under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, which is responsible for the implementation of forest policy in the entire territory of Latvia, monitors compliance with regulatory enactments and implements support programs for ensuring sustainable forestry.
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