15 Sep 2008

Samoa firefighters battle a bush fire for a fourth day

2:02 pm on 15 September 2008

Firefighters and disaster management officials in Samoa are still trying to put out a bush fire that has been blazing for several days on Savaii.

The fire is straddling the island's main road.

Disaster official Filomena Nelson says strong winds are affecting efforts to put out the blaze.

She says they will try to at least control the fire which is threatening the nearby villages of Asau and A'opo, where around 2,000 people live.

She says about 100 people have been deployed to fight the fire.

"We are doing our best here and we're hoping to fully extinguish one of the roadside in A'opo that goes towards the ocean We're hoping to fully extinguish that area today."

Filomena Nelson says forestry officials and the Red Cross are also involved while police are continuing with their inquiries to determine the cause of the blaze.