Fire extinguished after burning 1 hectare of bamboo forest in Yunlin

Taipei, Jan. 30 (CNA) A forest fire was extinguished early Friday morning after burning about one hectare of bamboo forest in the Shibi area of Yunlin County's Gukeng Township overnight, the second such fire in the region this month.

Officials with the county's Fire Department said they received a report at around 6 p.m. Thursday that a forest fire had broken out in Shibi Valley, located behind the Jiuxiong Sacred Tree, in the township's Caoling Village.

More than 30 people, including villagers, firefighters and volunteer firefighters, took part in overnight firefighting efforts, and the blaze was brought under control at around 4 a.m. Friday, the department said.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, it noted.

After the fire was put out, infrared thermal imaging detected lingering surface heat, prompting firefighters to continue spraying water at the site as a precaution, the department said.

The incident occurred in a bamboo forest about 10 kilometers away from a separate bamboo forest where another fire broke out on Jan. 12 and burned approximately eight hectares of forest over four days.

Although the two locations were in different mountain areas, local residents suspected both fires may have been caused by human activity.

Caoling Village chief Chen Ping-tung (陳兵通) said it is currently the winter bamboo shoot harvest season, during which farmers or illegal foragers enter the mountains to collect the local delicacy.

He said these individuals often light fires to keep warm in the cold mountain conditions, leaving behind embers that may have sparked the fires.