TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Commander of the Military District Command 031, Nurendi, said that from June 24 to July 26, fire has burned out 1,246 hectares of field in Riau. He added that there are 4 regencies/cities in Riau that contributed to the fire, namely Rokan Hilir, Pelalawan, Bengkalis, and Dumai.
Out of the total burned field, the task force has managed to put off 1,125 hectares. "However, the heat and soil contour have caused peat land burn again, given no monitoring," he said.
Therefore, he has urged all members of the task force to perform intensive monitoring to prevent the devastating fire from reoccurring.
Head of Regional Disaster Management of Riau, Edwar Sanger, explained that there are two choppers available for "water bombing" task. "We have prepared both in Roesmin Nurjadin Airfield, Pekanbaru, for water bombing," said Edwar.
Moreover, the task force, in cooperation with several authorities, has prepared a Hercules transport plane for weather mod purpose.
ANTARA