FIREFIGHTING operations to douse peat fires on 246ha in Sri Aman is about 95% complete.

A state Disaster Management Committee spokesman said the fire was almost completely under control, and only a small portion of the land still burning.

“Tomorrow, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) will hold a press conference to give an update on the status and latest developments on the operation,” he said in Kuching today.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department operations assistant director Tiong Ling Hii said as of 3pm, peat fires were still active, especially in sectors A and sector B, covering 8ha of land.

“In sector C, the fire has been completely extinguished with the use of MI-171 helicopters in water-bombing operations using 25,200 litres of water through 14 sorties, while the water-bombing exercise using the Bombardier CL-415 was successfully carried out with 10 sorties using 60,000 litres of water,” he said in a statement. – Bernama, September 22, 2019.