State fire and rescue department director Wan Zaidi Wan Isa said the operation at the Inderapura agriculture department area, covering 320 hectares of peatland forest, was completed on Tuesday after more than 10 days.

He added that the fire at the 110.5-hectare peatland in Gebeng was also easing, with 99% of the blaze successfully put out. The firefighting operation is expected to be completed today if no new fires occur.

“In Rompin, through an aerial survey, it was found that there is still a fire but not as big as before,” he told Bernama and TV3, which joined in the survey on a MI17 helicopter.

Wan Zaidi said rainfall in Kuantan and Rompin since Tuesday had helped those involved in the operations, who had been working hard for the past few weeks to douse the fires in the three locations.

Despite the Aidilfitri celebration, he said the department would continue monitoring the situation which developed due to the prolonged hot and dry weather.

“There is no such thing as an Aidilfitri holiday for the department. However, we expect the community’s cooperation in refraining from doing anything risky that could result in a fire, especially when the country is still experiencing the El Nino phenomenon, which can cause forest fires,” he said.

He also advised those who fish or hunt to put out their cigarette butts or campfires properly to ensure there are no embers, as dried grass and leaves can easily catch fire.

From January until now, 712 open burning cases were recorded in Pahang, with bushfires making up the highest number of cases at 635, followed by forest fires (42), rubbish (28), and gardens or fields (seven).