Fire erupts in Malaysian forest

Fire erupts in Malaysian forest

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysia, already blanketed in smog because of massive forest fires in Indonesia, had about 1,000 hectares of its own timber ablaze in eastern Pahang state Tuesday, the national Bernama news agency reported.

"It's a very big fire and difficult to control," the agency quoted deputy director of the Pahang state Fire and Rescue Services Department, Yahya Madis, as saying.

"The trees were falling one after the other as underground fire had eaten into their roots," he said.

The agency did not say when the fires started. It said the cause of the fire has not been identified.

Yahya said 30 firefighters were battling to put out the flames with more to be mobilized.