Wildfires worsened overnight on Lou Island in Papua New Guinea, with local authorities saying at least half of the islands forests are gone.
The fires, which have been ongoing island-wide since early last week, broke through ridgelines towards Rei village overnight, spreading fast and wide through to the morning.
Local government official David Putulan said with drought conditions and warm winds, and locals lacking the proper equipment, they are fighting a losing battle.
“It’s practically impossible to put on the fire by our efforts,” he said.
“We need higher level intervention, like choppers and other types of technology – it’s already an impossible situation.”
It comes as El NiƱo upends ordinarily tropical climate throughout New Guinea and its islands. Putulan said Lou, one of the Admiralty Islands, had never experienced a fire of this scale before.
“The fire index around this area is so high that anything is flammable, including even green leaves.
“It’s a heavily forested island, but because it’s a volcanic island and there are steep ridges, and a lot of the vegetation is creeping plants and cover crops, it creates a lot of fuel for the fire.”
Local responders on the ground have said they are using buckets, knives, axes and spades to carry water from the sea, but the steep terrain makes carrying it uphill difficult.
Lou Island has battled wildfires for the past week, in what locals call an “unprecedented” disaster.
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Video footage sent to RNZ Pacific on Tuesday morning showed locals, among them children, cloth-masked and dangerously close to flames.
Community leader Ngenge Sasa, who is helping coordinate firefighting efforts, said they are virtually out of options.
“I don’t know what we can do anymore,” he said.
“We are just trying to cut the fire breaks, but the fire is too strong, and local boys with only bush knives and spades and everything, they can’t do much.”
He added that groundwater sources have dried, meaning people are having to hike uphill with containers of ocean water.
After a long night, they have no choice but to keep fighting.
“Hopefully, the fire will die somewhere. We don’t know, but we are just praying.”
Putulan said the local wards have appealed to Port Moresby, and are now considering going to the Australian and New Zealand High Commissions.
RNZ Pacific has sought comment from Australia and New Zealand regarding what kind of assistance could be on the table.
