Damascus-SANA
The Forestry and Fire Monitoring Platform of the General Authority for Remote Sensing announced that the indicators of the danger of the spread of fire indicate that most of the forest lands in northwestern Syria are affected by the medium and high levels of danger from today until next Tuesday.
The platform published on its page on the social networking site an update showing the map of the intensity of the spread of the special fire index for the days from the 19th to the 22nd of this June, which shows that most of the forest lands in northwest Syria are classified as medium and high levels of risk during this period.
The platform provides producers of maps and indicators of the risk of fire spreading, who contribute by providing data to forestry and forestry departments, thus helping them to prioritize preparation and intervention in sites with the highest fire risk, knowing that the maps placed periodically do not necessarily mean the outbreak of a fire in them, but rather indicate the existence of appropriate conditions for the possibility of its outbreak and therefore Necessary preparations must be made.
In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform took all necessary measures and provided all fire-fighting supplies, and announced the mobilization of its members in anticipation of any emergency this summer.
Ali Thabet, director of forestry in the ministry, said in a statement to SANA that the ministry has equipped all fire extinguishers, tanks and tractors “with the necessary pumps and hoses,” cars, rapid intervention teams, water supply trucks, and the necessary supplies for cars and firefighting personnel, in anticipation of any fires that may occur this summer.
Thabet explained that the number of firefighters and tanks ready to intervene during the fire is about 170 tanks, pointing out that there are 14 forest protection centers in Syria, 24 control towers and 138 police stations that are fully prepared, in addition to the presence of “concrete and plastic” water tanks with capacities ranging between 35 and 300 cubic meters and installed in Areas with a high fire risk index, indicating that the members of the forestry outposts and the guards of the forest sites, which numbered 807, are on guard 24 hours a day.
Thabet added that the ministry has developed a comprehensive national plan to organize the fight against forest fires based on prevention and daily, supportive and continuous monitoring with the aim of anticipating the risk of fire, noting that the plan also aims to protect 527,653 hectares of forests throughout the Syrian territory and reduce the burned area to less than one hectare for a single fire. .
Thabet indicated that the ministry built 55 km of forest roads in 2020 and restored and isolated 3,546 km of forest roads to limit the spread of fires and enable firefighting teams to reach the fire as soon as possible.
He pointed out that the ministry is currently working on increasing water supply points, such as constructing and constructing water dams according to the topographical and physical capabilities of the site, and preparing all the manholes and water intakes affiliated with the ministry, in addition to coordinating with other concerned ministries to put their manholes in full readiness, as there are currently 115 water fountains in service. They are used as water supply points during fires.
He stated that a platform was formed to follow up on forest fires aimed at early detection of fires according to an electronic early warning system that helps direct and rapid intervention. Its membership includes researchers from Syrian universities, the General Authority for Remote Sensing and the General Authority for Scientific Agricultural Research, whose mission is to prepare a base map on which the forest road network is installed. Fire lines, fire stations, watchtowers, forest posts, and water fountains are distributed. This map helps in managing the fire and directing firefighting personnel and teams well to the appropriate places of intervention.
Ghassob Abboud
