Officials from multiple agencies launched a joint operation on Monday to extinguish forest fires burning on Hin Lek Fai in Hua Hin.
Officials said the fires had been burning for three consecutive days and had spread to other hills, threatening nearby villages and houses.
Mr Polkrit Phuangvalaisin, Hua Hin District Chief, along with Mr. Nopporn Wutthikul, the Mayor of Hua Hin City, led a group of officers from the Hua Hin Border Patrol Police Station 3, village chiefs, and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation to urgently bring equipment to extinguish the forest fires.
Other forest fires had been extinguished in previous days but that new fires had begun burning again, officials said.
The initial damage from the forest fire has already consumed more than 410 acres of forest and woodland on or around Hin Lek Fai.
Mr Polkrit said that after being notified of the forest fire on Khao Hin Lek Fai, his team immediately coordinated with various agencies to extinguish the fires.
Members of the public were concerned due to the proximity of the fires to nearby villages and the city, while others had concerns over air quality.
Mr Polkrit said that some areas on the mountain were difficult to access, and some equipment could not reach certain points, which made the operation challenging.
Nevertheless, the public can be confident that the officials are working to extinguish the fire to the best of their ability, Mr Polkrit added.
Officials said they believed that the cause of the fires to be natural.
While forest fires can occur naturally, it is important to note that human activities are responsible for the majority of forest fires.
Unattended fires, cigarette butts, fireworks, and other human-related factors, such as the burning of rubbish or garden waste, often lead to forest fires or wildfires.
