TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nogroho said that forest and peat land fires in Riau are still difficult to contain.
The difficulty is, among other things, because there are still many people who accidentally burned the forests to clear land.
"One of the obstacles is that burners of peat land and forest are difficult to find because usually after burning the forest and peat lands, they fled," Sutopo told Tempo on Saturday (27/8).
"Moreover, the location of burned forest and peat land are too difficult to reach," he added.
Sutopo added that the effort to extinguish forest and peat land fires is carried out by adding a fleet of helicopters and water-bombing aircraft.
Deploying more water-bombing aircrafts is easier and faster.
"When the fire is still small, we will immediately put it out so as not to get bigger," he said.
Burning forests and peat lands by farmers, Sutopo added, is usually aimed at opening agricultural lands to be planted. This is done because it is cost-effective and has become customs in farming and gardening.
ABDUL AZIS