A forest fire, caused inadvertently yesterday by a tourist visiting an ecological reserve in central Taiwan, has resulted in damage to alpine plants preserved by the Shei-Pa National Park (
The fire was discovered after a young man, 28, gave himself up to the police yesterday morning. The man, a resident of Taipei City, confessed he had lit a fire to burn used toilet paper.
By yesterday evening, at least five hectares of dwarf bamboo (箭竹) in the national park had been destroyed by the fire, officials of the headquarters said.
"We've found difficulties in extinguishing the fire, including the lack of a water source, the dry air that is typical in winter and no access [to the area]," said Lin Yung-fa (
The origin of the fire was a hardstand for helicopters near the eastern summit of Hsuehshan (雪山東峰), which is 3,200m above sea level.
Due to dry air and a strong wind, the fire was spreading quickly down to lower areas, at 3,000m above sea level.
Close to 50 soldiers, firemen of Taichung County Fire Department and officials of the Council of Agriculture were sent to put out the fire by using tools to open firebreaks.
Policemen of Chihliang Police Substation (志良派出所) also joined the effort.
Liou Chin-lung (劉金龍), an official of the headquarters, told the Taipei Times that the damaged area was covered by dwarf bamboo only.
"In terms of ecology, we don't see too much damage being made by the fire. People rarely see animals there," Liou said.
Based on previous fires, Liou said, the area would soon be covered by the same plant.
Dwarf bamboo, about half a meter in length, is common in mountains at 3,000m above sea level.
Officials said the forest preserve was located in lower areas, at about 2,500 meters above sea level.
"Hopefully, the cliff will block the expanding fire." Liou said.
The national park covers an area of 76,850 hectares, ranging from Hsinchu and Miaoli counties to Taichung County.
At 2,000m above sea level, it is often covered in mist. In the winter, the mountain peaks emerging from a sea of clouds make an especially impressive sight.
Officials of the headquarters said that the 28-year-old man entered the national park via Wuling (武陵), which is 1,740m above sea level, without applying for a permit to enter the ecological reserve.
According to the National Park Law (國家公園法), only a team composed of at least three people are allowed to apply for the permit to enter any ecological reserve.
The man who caused the fire yesterday will be fined NT$3,000 for his unauthorized entry to the reserve.
An unrelated fire started yesterday afternoon in a forest reserve in the Hueisun Forestry Center (惠蓀林場) in Nantou County, destroying at least two hectares of forest.
On Feb. 12, a forest fire in Lishan (梨山) near Shei-pa National Park engulfed 80 hectares of forest.
The Cabinet decided yesterday to carry out a comprehensive investigation on recent fires to see if there was any administrative negligence involved in any of the incidents.
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