Petaling Jaya, March 13 — About 150ha in five locations in Selangor were being consumed by forest or bush fires yesterday, contributing to the hot and hazy situation in the state. 

The areas that were ablaze were in Taman Industri Alam Jaya (3.6ha), Elite Highway (25.5ha), Parit in Sungai Besar (17.4ha), Sungai Tengi (99.1ha) and Bukit Conggang (4ha).

Initially, a total of 314.8ha in the five areas were on fire with the biggest area along the Elite Highway.

Selangor Fire Control Centre assistant commissioner Pauzan Ahmad said that fires on 169.2ha had been extinguished and they were now putting out the rest. 

Asked if the department was having problems sourcing for water to fight the flames since there was a shortage of water in the state, he said they had not faced much difficulty in obtaining water. 

“We use water from our (reserve) tanks,” he told The Malay Mail. 

He said the causes of the fires were not immediately known, but he did not rule out the possibility that they could have been caused by the extreme dry weather or negligence. 

Pauzan also said his office received about 75 calls on open burning daily. 

Department of Environment director-general Datuk Halimah Hassan reminded the public that a ban on open burning was in effect in Selangor. 

“The ban is in force until further notice,” she said.

The ban, however, does not include cremation, burning for religious purposes, grill, barbecue as well as flammable gas.

Halimah warned that anyone found guilty of open burning could be fined up to RM500,000 or jailed up to five years or both.

At the same time, she said offenders faced a maximum compound of RM2,000 for each offence.