The Selangor Fire and Rescue Department has put out nearly 50 per cent of the fire engulfing some 50 hectares of forest areas nearby the Kuala Langat Selatan Forest Reserve here over the past few days.

Its director Norazam Khamis said the fire fighting operation may take several more days due to the current dry spell and strong winds which had contributed to the rapid spreading of the peat fires.

“The fire may have started a week earlier than was initially reported to us last Friday and it has now spread to an area of 50 hectares involving six compartments,” he told a press conference near the site yesterday.

Norazam said preliminary investigations revealed the fire was likely caused by intruders who carried out illegal burning to clear land for cash crop farming.

Meanwhile, Selangor Malaysian maritime enforcement agency director Mohammad Rosli Kassim said 285,000 litres of water have been released by the Bombardier CL-415 aircraft since last Sunday to help put out the flames. - Bernama