Crop stubble burning sparks fires in Mae Hong Son

Ruangrit Poldee, chief of Mae Hong Son’s disaster prevention and mitigation office, said on Monday that though the fires had been brought under control, there were still many simmering hotspots in the area.

Air pollution has also crossed the safety limit in the province.

Separately, a farmer identified only as Noon was arrested on Sunday in Tak for allegedly setting fire to a sugarcane field in Mae Tao subdistrict.

Noon was charged for violating the ban on burning crops and was sent to Mae Hong Son Police Station to face legal action.

Tak banned the burning crop stubble from March 1 to April 30, while Mae Hong Son put a stop to the burning for seven days from March 8 to 14 in a bid to mitigate the air pollution.