BPBD Records 1,618 Hotspots in West Kalimantan
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16 August 2023 18:59 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - West Kalimantan Disaster Mitigation Agency, or BPBD, said that it is currently intensifying patrol and carrying out efforts to extinguish fires after the current data recorded 1,618 hotspots in the province.
"The hotspot detection is carried out with VIIRS and MODIS sensors. The observation is conducted every afternoon and evening," said BPBD head for Disaster Information, Daniel, in Pontianak on Wednesday, August 16, 2023.
According to Daniel, the exact number of land fires in August 2023 is still being calculated. However, BPBD and the National Armed Forces, and the police, have put out fires in hundreds of hotspots.
Meanwhile, the data for the January-July 2023 period showed that the fires occurred across 14 regencies or cities and amounted to 5,768.73 hectares of land.
"The [forest fire] data was calculated based on satellite images analysis of Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS overlayed with the hotspot distribution, hotspot ground check, and Manggala Agni's extinguishers," said Daniel.
Daniel relayed that BPBD is currently intensifying its patrol efforts from land and the air to prevent and mitigate land and forest fires in West Kalimantan. "To optimize the land patrol, we deploy every related institution including the army, police, and the public. Air patrol is controlled by the Air Task Force," he added.
Furthermore, BPBD also encourages the locals to install banners and distribute pamphlets concerning land clearing and the hazard of smoke.
"Enforcing and Safeguarding the implementation of West Kalimantan Regional Regulation No. 1 of 2022 concerning local wisdom-based land clearing is also necessary," Daniel concluded.
ANTARA
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