A wildfire started on Monday in the north-central Vietnamese province of Ha Tinh, a week after a series of blazes burned down over 267 hectares of forest in the locality.

The fire broke out in Nam Mountain in Huong Son District at around 11:30 am, Nguyen Van Thanh, head of the district’s forest protection unit, confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

The forest mainly consists of acacia and pine trees, Thanh said, adding the cause of the blaze remains unknown.

High temperatures accompanied by strong winds have caused the flames to spread quickly, with hundreds of people, including police and forest protection officers, military soldiers, and local residents, having joined the effort to put the fire under control.

Their main priority is to keep the fire from affecting houses near the forest.

According to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, the scorching weather returned to central Vietnam on Sunday, with the highest temperatures recorded between 35 and 37 degrees Celsius.

Mercury exceeded 38 degrees Celsius in some areas, the center reported, adding that the weather pattern is expected to continue striking the region over the next days.

Between June 28 and July 1, a total of 12 wildfires destroyed more than 267 hectares of forest in multiple districts in Ha Tinh, including Huong Son.

Thousands of people had to work relentlessly day and night to put the situation under control.

Forest fires also occurred in the north-central provinces of Nghe An, Quang Binh, and Thua Thien-Hue during this period as the region was hit by high temperatures.

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