MALACCA: There were 378 cases of farm, forest and bush fires in the state in the first two months of the year as the country is hit by a hot and dry spell now and the figure is half of the annual total of 561 cases for the whole of last year.
Melaka Fire and Rescue Department director Mohamad Zin Salleh said from the total, bush fires were the highest with 357 cases compared with forest fires (11 cases) and farm fires (10 cases).
He said the 2018 total of 561 cases rose from 331 cases in 2017.
On the overall, the three categories of fires recorded were highest since 2017 in which a spike was seen during the hot weather,” she told Bernama here today.
On Feb 15, Meteorological Department National Weather and Geophysics Operation Centre director Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip was reported as saying the hot weather would continue until the end of March and it was a normal phenomenon during the tail end of the North East monsoon. — Bernama
