Armed Indigenous firefighters protect Thailand’s forests

CHIANG MAI – In the heat of the dry season in northern Thailand, Hmong villagers trudge through forested slopes, raking leaves and cutting brush with scissors, while others check the smoke on their phones.

Across about a dozen villages in the hills of Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, above the city of Chiang Mai, local volunteers ride on foot with firecrackers while using drones and cameras on trees – all to spot the flames in advance and protect Thailand’s second largest city from smoke.

“The forest we are protecting is part of the national park – the lungs of Chiang Mai,” said Mr. Mathaphan Phuchakritdapa, who started the volunteer firefighting force ten years ago and is Suthep district chief.

“If it burns, the city’s lungs are damaged, that’s why we have to take care of it as much as we can.”

He and his team turned to technology-driven firefighting after devastating wildfires in 2020 ravaged the mountains above the tourism-dependent town.

Those fires lasted for weeks in March and April in 2020killing at least five people and injuring and displacing civilians and wildlife.

Thick smoke from the fires then and has since pushed Chiang Mai to the top of the world’s air pollution rankings.

Satellite images from the peak of the 2020 outbreak showed northern Thailand covered in thick clusters of fires, with around 400 reported in Chiang Mai province in one day.

“It was the worst fire I have ever seen in my life,” said Mr. Mathaphan, adding that it took more than forty days to control it.

Hotter, drier weather caused by climate change creates more frequent and destructive fire conditions, and accumulated dry leaves can fuel and accelerate their spread.

Epidemics are often associated with human activities such as clearing forests and brush for foraging, hunting and agriculture.

In order to control air pollution, Chiang Mai authorities announced a strict five-month ban on open burning from the beginning of 2026.

Officials often blame “hill tribes”, while the villages say the fires are set by outsiders for commercial purposes.

Data from NASA’s fire monitoring service shows very few fires in the area in mid-March in 2026 compared to the same period in 2020.

“Local residents and government agencies are taking this matter seriously, leading to strict control of burning and fire outbreaks,” Mr Mathaphan told AFP.

The Hmong, an Indian tribe from the mountains of southern China, have lived on these slopes in northern Thailand since they migrated in the mid-20th century.

Teams of volunteers roar through the hills on motorbikes, blowing away stormy leaves and muting the sound of a small plane taking pictures of the hot spot.

Mongkol Yingyotmongkolsaen, a 47-year-old Hmong volunteer, returned from the villagen 2023 and began using his photography skills to put out fires.

He has installed low-cost, internet-connected video cameras high in the treetops that share live feeds with villagers who can monitor conditions remotely in real time.

Mr Mongkol also flies conventional and infrared drones to monitor fires from above, track any spreading flames and detect temperatures at night.

This allows teams to identify hot spots early, plan safe routes and contain fires quickly, he said, making their work easier.

“This is my way of giving back to my community,” he added.

Throughout the district, each family provides a volunteer, making a network of about 270 people who manage about 1,600ha of forest.

Monitoring this large area requires about 1.5 million baht (S$58,620) a year to cover the cost of food, fuel and equipment maintenance.

But the community only receives about 50,000 baht a year in government funding – an amount that local chief Mathapan said is not enough.

However, their voluntary fire prevention approach has become a model for other communities, he said, helping to change the attitudes of Hmong villagers who are often accused of deforestation and “destructive” farming practices.

“Let’s not destroy the forest,” said Mr Mathaphan. “We protect it.” AFP