JOHOR BARU: The present dry spell has seen firemen responding to five times more calls to fight fires this month, compared with the same period in 2024 and 2025. Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Seri Nor Hisham Mohammad said the department has responded to 3,194 fires in January. He said Kedah alone has four major fires while Johor saw one in recent days, involving some 136ha in Johor and Kedah combined. Nor Hisham added that previously there was also large scale open burning in Johor totalling 315ha, Selangor (7.24ha) and Sabah (5.66ha) which has since been put out. “We have presently deployed helicopters to carry out water bombing activities in Kedah and Johor,” he said.

Source: The Star January 30, 2026 06:29 UTC