Along with consolidating the administrative structure and organization after the merger of communes and districts, Lao Cai province continues to strive to implement many synchronized measures in the management, protection, and development of forests. Accordingly, in November 2025, the Provincial Forest Protection Department, in collaboration with the Forestry Information Systems Joint Stock Company (FIS), installed 11 additional automatic forest fire forecast signboards in the areas of Van Yen - Tran Yen, Van Chan - Tram Tau - Nghia Lo, and Luc Yen - Yen Binh.

According to the forest status report before the merger, as of December 31, 2024, the forest area in Lao Cai province (including areas of forest not meeting the criteria for calculating the coverage rate) is nearly 400,000 hectares; of which more than 250,000 hectares are natural forests and nearly 140,000 hectares are planted forests. The forest area meeting the criteria for calculating forest coverage is nearly 380,000 hectares; the overall forest coverage rate of the province reaches 59.37%, an increase of 0.87% compared to 2023. After the merger, the total forestry land area of Lao Cai province according to forest status is nearly 980,000 hectares, of which the area with forest is over 800,000 hectares (including more than 473,000 hectares of natural forest and nearly 340,000 hectares of planted forest).

Although the situation of violations of forest laws in some localities remains complex, areas of forest with broken or fallen trees, damaged due to the impact of storms, are a source of material that increases the risk of forest fires. Nevertheless, forest protection and fire prevention and fighting efforts in the province have been strongly directed by various levels and sectors; the sense of responsibility of forest owners and the local people has continued to improve.