Forest fire near Legoland M'sia spreads to 98 football fields area after it was put out initially

The Amazon is not the only forest burning.

Belmont Lay | August 26, 2019, 04:16 AM

A forest fire in the south west of Johor Bahru has been burning for the past few days since Friday, Aug. 23, 2019.

This was after it was initially extinguished.

Where is the fire?

The forest fire is at Kampung Pekajang in Iskandar Puteri, near Legoland theme park and a hotel at Medini.

The shaded area shows the whole of Iskandar Puteri, a city at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula, and its proximity with Singapore:

The fire is an area beside Legoland, located in this southernmost city in Peninsular Malaysia:

The fire has spread over six times its original size.

When did fire start?

Emergency response teams were alerted to the fire at 4.25pm on Friday.

They battled the blaze for nearly 10 hours.

The flames were brought under control at about 3.15am on Saturday, Aug. 24.

How did the fire start?

The fire was believed to have been sparked by dry and hot conditions in the area.

How big was the initial blaze?

It destroyed 16 hectares of forest near the Legoland theme park.

One hectare is about the size of one football field.

Why did the fire spread?

The fire spread as a result of strong winds over the past few days.

How much bigger has the forest fire become?

Forest fires covered more than 16 hectares on Friday, Aug. 23.

It then spread to a new area of 98 hectares on Sunday, Aug. 25.

How much of the fire is currently put out?

As of Sunday, the Johor Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) extinguished 45 percent, or 44 hectares of fire over 24 hours.

How long would it take to put out the fire?

It is expected to take four days from Sunday.

What methods are the firefighters using to control the blaze?

Firefighters created a firebreak by digging a barrier and felling trees to ensure that the blaze did not spread.

How many people are involved in the operation?

A total of 79 members were involved in the fire-fighting operation.

How much water is needed?

Five 20,000-litre capacity water tankers were used to transport water taken from nearby fire hydrants to extinguish the fire.

The existing river in the area could not accommodate the extinguishing operation.

Did it rain?

There was a slight drizzle but it did not have much effect on the extinguishing operation.

What other methods are being considered to put out the fire?

Cloud seeding activities have been suggested to be carried out in the area to assist in the firefighting operation.

However, the Meteorological Department was present at the site of the fire to observe the formation of clouds, but the result would probably be 50 percent successful due to low cloud moisture, it was estimated.

It is unclear if cloud seeding activities were proceeded with.