TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Hundreds of hotspots have emerged in Sumatra and Kalimantan. From the NOAA satellite’s observation by September 15, there were 227 hotpots in Central Kalimantan, 112 hotpots in West Kalimantan, 29 in South Kalimantan, 134 in South Sumatra, 89 in Riau and 62 in Jambi.
The Directorate of Forest Fire Control at the Forestry Ministry recorded forest fires in the six provinces cover a wide area of 3,637.75 hectares in conservation area and 1,801.6 hectares in plantation land.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugoho predicted the condition would become much worse even if only small fires were ignited. "Economic loss will be high if it is not handled immediately," he said yesterday.
In February-April 2014, the economic losses due to forest fires were Rp20 trillion and around 58,000 people suffered from respiratory disorders due to the smoke. Indonesia has also lost 2,398 hectares of biosphere lands and 21,214 forest lands.
In order to prevent forest fires from spreading, the BNPB is working with the local government, the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency and the Forestry Ministry in equipment provision. Meanwhile, the Indonesian National Forces (TNI) have prepared four battalions to put fire from the ground and the Indonesian National Police (Polri) also contribute in law enforcement.
For water bombing from the air, the BNPB prepares nine Bosco, Sikorsky and Kamov helicopters that will carry 4,000 liters of water in one bombing.
The Forestry Ministry has extinguished 640 hectares of burned lands in West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Sumatra and Southeast Sulawesi by using water bombing and extinguishing fires from the ground, according to Raffles Brotestes Panjaitan, director of forest fire control at the Forestry Ministry.
AMRI MAHBUB