State NREB Controller Datuk Jack Liam stated that teams on the ground are currently gathering evidence.
KUCHING: Investigation teams from the Sarawak Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) are probing the possibility that the latest rounds of forest fires and wildfires across the state were caused by human activity.
Officials believe human factors may have triggered several of the large-scale blazes that continue to rage after nine days.
State NREB Controller Datuk Jack Liam stated that teams on the ground are currently gathering evidence.
“We have received information regarding the possible involvement of illegal planters in these fires.
“We are currently investigating and gathering evidence. There are legal provisions we can use against those found responsible, involving very heavy penalties,” he said during an NREB event in Kuching.
Jack stated that while firefighters are still battling numerous large blazes, there are signs that most hotspots are being contained.
“There is still some rain in parts of Sarawak, which has fortunately averted any haze for now,” he added.
At the start of the week, reports indicated 18 major hotspots within Sarawak, alongside 241 detected in the Indonesian province of Kalimantan.
Sarawak, Sabah and Kalimantan share a border of more than 1,600km; consequently, large-scale fires on either side of the border frequently result in serious transboundary haze.
The latest ground situation in Sarawak shows that Kuala Tatau, located in the Tatau district of northern Sarawak, remains the site of the largest forest fire, measuring approximately 150 acres.
Scattered hotspots have also been identified in the districts of Sibu, Mukah, Bintulu, Miri, Betong, Sri Aman and Kuching.
The Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department remains the lead agency tackling these blazes. The state is currently grappling with a prolonged hot and dry spell, with several rural areas already reporting critical water shortages.
