CityNews – 18th March 2020, a BT-67 is taking to the skies twice a day to add moisture to the air and to look out for hot spots, said the governor yesterday from the provincial hall during a meeting to discuss pollution prevention measures.
The governor said that Chiang Mai’s pollution has not alleviated since it began to get bad in January of this year. The province has used all available resources to combat fires as well as to patrol forest areas and create fire breakers, but the situation appears to be getting worse.
He has therefore shifted the strategy from focusing mainly on putting out fires, to adding resources for patrolling and fire prevention.
The military circle 33 will be adding more man power to help with patrolling. There have also been two volunteer groups which are becoming effective in helping authorities to spot fires – volunteer pilots as well as a group of people who own all terrain vehicles.
The governor went on to say that this year around 95% of all fires have been found on forest or conservation land. These areas tend to be very hard to access due to steep incline and lack of roads. Hunters and gathers who deliberately or accidentally cause forest fires will also be the target for patrols to watch out for and a total of 25 district chiefs have been told to crack down on these poachers and hunters.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, according to the governor, is concerned for the wellbeing of northerners and has tasked the BT-67 with spraying water over densely populated area for immediate relief. These flight will take to the skies twice per day, in the morning and afternoon from now until the 27th March.
The Land Transportation Department is also stepping up its crackdown on vehicle exhaust fumes and local authorities say that they are out spraying water around cities to add moisture to the air.