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A hashtag about the forest fires hitting Chiang Mai was going viral Tuesday following the latest bushfire to flare up in the province.
The hashtag #ไฟป่าเชียงใหม่ (Chiang Mai forest fires) had more than 700,000 reposts by Tuesday noon after a blaze was reported in the mountains of Samoeng district. The fires have now spread 700 metres across the mountain.
Many social-media users shared a shot of the fire showing the mountain ablaze in the middle of the night.
Authorities and firefighters have been trying to manage the fires since it broke out Monday night. They first stopped it spreading, but it was reignited Tuesday morning after more bamboo branches rolled down the mountain.
“The reason the fire spread so quickly is because this is a bamboo forest,” Somkit Punyadee, the secretary of the Chiang Mai Forest Fire Control Station, told Thai Enquirer on Tuesday. “When more bamboos fell and rolled down the mountains, the fire started again this morning. There are three major fire zones.”
More than 500 local residents volunteered to help authorities in fighting the fires on Tuesday morning, Somkit said. One of Chiang Mai’s deputy governors is also now in Samoeng to oversee the situation.
Somkit told Thai Enquirer that authorities and firefighters have the bushfire under control, preventing it from spreading any further. However, there was a risk of the flames being reignited again due to the current dry season, dry leaves, and the direction and speed of the wind, he said.
“Right now, smog levels are at very high levels due to what happened, not to mention the fact that Samoeng district is surrounded by mountains – compressing the smoke into one area,” said Somkit. “The smog has also spread to the east into Chiang Mai’s inner city, and the air pollution levels are higher today.”
He said that authorities would be unable to completely gauge the fire’s impact on the villages and forest until they are extinguished.