Many trees in a protective forest in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam were burnt and chopped down as part of a fire drill on Monday, sparking public concerns.

The Quang Nam Forest Protection Department on Monday cooperated with the People’s Committee of Thang Binh District to hold a fire drill in the protection forest in the district's Binh Sa Commune.

Following the fire drill, locals saw that many trees in the area of the drill were burnt or cut down.

Local residents said they had seen officials sawing and cutting down the trees before the drill and even reported the case to the commune authorities as they thought that loggers might have destroyed the forest. 

P.T.D., a resident, said he was surprised when the local authorities held the fire drill in the protection forest.

Many trees were burnt and it would be hard for them to survive, he added.

Chairman of the People’s Committee of Binh Sa Commune Chau Quang Anh said the Quang Nam Forest Protection Department chose the location for the fire drill.

Trees in the area were scattered, with many of them being dead or dried earlier, so rangers took advantage of these trees for the fire drill.

The eastern area of Quang Nam Province saw many forest fires over the past time so rangers selected the area for the fire drill, said Tu Van Khanh, deputy head of the provincial Forest Protection Department.

Rangers chose the area with a few trees and burnt vegetation on the ground.

“We not only held the fire drill but also called on residents to get involved in fire prevention and fighting campaigns. We opted for a practical site to ensure the effectiveness of the fire fighting in reality,” Khanh explained.

Regarding the trees whose trunks were burnt, Khanh said they were affected by the fire drill but would recover after a short period. 

As for the trees cut at their feet, he said they might have fallen amid storms last year, affirming that rangers did not set the forest on fire.

The site of the fire drill was similar to a real site to facilitate it, according to Tran Ut, deputy director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The drill did not significantly hit the forest, Ut claimed, adding several trees were affected but the damage was not huge.

Before the fire drill, relevant agencies felled some trees which had fallen earlier due to storms, not fresh and alive ones, the official noted.