Chiang Rai closes national park as fires from Laos ravage forest

Park chief Witthaya Buaphol issued the announcement on Thursday, saying the park in the northern province’s Thoeng district bordering Laos is closed to visitors until further notice.

The announcement said a blaze that originated over the border in Laos had spread to a peak in the Phu Chi Fa mountains at 3pm on Thursday, charring a tract of forest on the summit.

Park authorities said it would be unsafe to allow tourists to visit the park, while the forest needed time to rehabilitate after the fire damage.

The Phu Chi Fa range is not the only area of Chiang Rai hit by fires that have spread over the border from Laos in the past week.

Doi Jorakay peak suffered forest fires for the third consecutive day on Friday.

Mae Chan district chief Warayut Komboon is leading a team of some 120 officials including rangers and forestry officers who are fighting the fires in the mountainous terrain.Fires have reportedly been lit on the Laos side of the border for the past seven days, contributing to severe air pollution in Mae Chan and other Chiang Rai districts.

On Friday, locals officials measured the level of PM2.5 – hazardous fine-dust air pollution – at 278 micrograms per cubic metre, compared with 45 micrograms on the previous day. Thailand’s safe limit for PM2.5 is 50 micrograms.