Deputy Interior Minister mobilizes forces and dispatches helicopters to drop water on the Khuan Khreng peat swamp forest fire, stressing continuous situation reporting.
On 15 August 2026, amid the peat swamp forest fire situation in Khuan Khreng, Cha-uat District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Mr. Jeset Thaiset, Deputy Minister of Interior, urgently ordered the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) to quickly mobilize personnel and equipment to support firefighting efforts in the area, coordinating with relevant agencies to enhance control capabilities promptly.
Initially, DDPM deployed one forest fire truck, one 10,000-liter fire water truck, and one small truck to support the mission, along with five personnel from Regional Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Center 11 in Surat Thani. Simultaneously, coordination with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment arranged for a helicopter to assist with water drops to combat the fire, which was scheduled to arrive in the area this evening.
Mr. Jeset stated that he instructed all units to urgently integrate their forces and resources fully to assist the area, ordering DDPM to monitor and report the situation regularly for timely assessment of the need for additional support, placing the highest priority on the safety of officials and the local population.
He also ordered local agencies to closely track the fire's spread direction and, if additional forces, equipment, or resources are needed, to promptly coordinate and provide support to control the situation and minimize impact on residents and natural resources as quickly as possible.