VietNamNet Bridge – Eight provinces have been warned that conditions in their localities were ripe for forest fires.

The warning comes from the Department of Forest Management under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Most of the provinces warned are in the southeast.

Bac Giang, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Ha Nam, Kon Tum, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa and Tay Ninh provinces are said to be "extremely dangerous" because of the dry conditions they are experiencing.

National Steering Committee for Fire Prevention and Fighting has asked the areas' People Committees at all levels to take immediate measures to prevent potential fires.

According to Tay Ninh People's Committee, authorities have asked the Forest Project Management, militia force and provincial police to work together to help prevent fires.

Seven other provinces are also rated as being "dangerous".

The affected areas have been suffering from prolonged, severe droughts.

Statistics from the Department of Forest Management show that in the first two months of last year, there were 150 reported fires that burnt 1,600 hectares.

* Rare snakes rediscovered in Lao Cai

Specimens of two rare snake species, the la koroa snake (Oligodon lacroixi bellus) and the bella rat snake (Maculophis bellus chapaensis) have been found in Hoang Lien mountainous area in the northwestern province of Lao Cai.

In early January, the research department from the Viet Nam National Museum of Nature, the Saint Petersburg Zoology Institute and the Tu-la Amphibian and Reptile Taming Centre (Russia) jointly surveyed the area.

The two rare snakes were discovered for the first time in the 1980s by French scientists.

The la koroa snake is recognisable through its brown with yellow spotted back and black stripes along its length. Its orange belly also has black stripes. The species is acknowledged to exist in Lao Cai of Viet Nam, and Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China.

The bella rat snake has a red-orange back with yellow and black stripes, and an orange belly with purple veins.

It has two subspecies including the Maculphis bellus bellus populating southern China and the Maculophis bellus chapaensis which is recorded as being unique in Viet Nam.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News