Taichung: Over 200 Cemetery Grass Fires in March, Councilors Call for Increased Patrol Personnel
Taichung City experienced over 200 grass fires in March, many in or near cemeteries, with causes likely related to grave sweeping and incense burning. Councilors urged the Civil Affairs Bureau to enhance publicity and consider deploying more patrol personnel.
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- 📰 Published: April 10, 2026 at 14:01
- 🔍 Collected: April 10, 2026 at 15:00 (59 min after Published)
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After the Lantern Festival, many people have been sweeping graves. Last month, several mountain and grass fires broke out in Taichung City, with flames and thick smoke visible even from National Freeway No. 3. The Taichung City Council held a civil affairs business inquiry today, with DPP councilors Zeng Wei and Zhou Yong-hong expressing concern about grass fire issues. Zhou Yong-hong pointed out that according to statistics from the Taichung City Fire Bureau, there were 262 grass fires in March, with 79 in cemeteries and 183 elsewhere. The ignition points for grass fires outside of cemeteries were also often near cemeteries, leading to speculation that they are related to people burning incense during grave sweeping or spontaneous grass fires. Social media has been abuzz with reports of mountain fires in Taichung, questioning whether the Civil Affairs Bureau has effectively implemented grass cutting, weeding, and publicity work. Zeng Wei stated that several grass fires occurred from after the Lunar New Year until before the Qingming Festival, mostly on weekends. It is preliminarily inferred that the fires are related to grave sweeping. While it is difficult to ask people not to burn incense, he suggested increasing patrols in cemeteries on Saturday and Sunday mornings to prevent sparks from igniting fires. Wu Shi-wei, Director of the Civil Affairs Bureau, replied that this year's climate is particularly dry, with even a water shortage crisis, and the wind is particularly strong, making it easy for sparks from burning incense to spread and cause disasters. An annual budget is allocated to various district offices for weed removal, providing water bags, and strengthening publicity on centralized incense burning. He cited the example of Shengang District Office requiring people not to bring incense to cemeteries, which has been effective. The suggestion of establishing cemetery patrol teams will be studied. (Editor: Li Shu-hua) 1150410