KUCHING:After battling a peat fire for over a week in Kuala Lawas in northern Sarawak, the Fire and Rescue Department claim it has almost extinguished it.
State fire chief Datuk Khirudin Drahman said the department had switched to aerial bombing, using the Russian-built Mil Mi-17 helicopter, as the area was inaccessible to heavy machinery.
The blaze had covered 70ha and the water-bombing exercise was now over 10ha at Kampung Banting.
Excavators are being used to dig up the peat land to make it easier for water to penetrate and extinguish the underground fire.
Khirudin described the technique as "total flooding" of the area.
The battle to contain the fire began on Feb 20 with most of the 28 men from the tiny Lawas fire station roped in to help.
They were later reinforced by eight men from the nearby Limbang station and 23 from the police, civil defence force and volunteer corps.