66 Hotspots Detected in Indonesia's West Sumatra in 24 Hours; 6 at High Risk of Wildfire

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry announced that 66 hotspots had been detected in West Sumatra over the past 24 hours as of noon on Tuesday, July 30. The records were taken from the SiPongi website, a hotspot monitoring system developed by the government.

West Sumatra Forestry Office chief Yozarwardi said there were a total of 6 red spots or high fire risk areas, 52 yellow spots, and 8 green spots. The hot spots were found in three districts, namely Sijunjung (4 hot), Solok district (1) and Pesisir Selatan (61).

"Most of them were found in Pesisir Selatan Regency, namely in the Silaut and Tapan areas," Yozarwardi told Tempo when contacted shortly after the announcement.

According to Yozarwardi, only one hotspot has appeared in the past 12 hours, in Silaut, Pesisir Selatan Regency. He confirmed that the Pesisir Selatan Forest Management Unit (KPH) had sent a team to inspect and treat the hotspot.

He confirmed that the West Sumatra Forestry Agency had written to local authorities to prepare for land and forest fires. "We have also written to the local government to be vigilant," Yozarwadi said.

Ilham Wahab, head of rehabilitation and reconstruction at the West Sumatra Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), said his unit received two reports of land fires on July 27 and 29 from the towns of Payakumbuh and Pesisir Selatan.

The July 27 fire was believed to have been caused by carelessly discarded cigarettes that spread with the wind. "Which brought fire debris to several points," he said.

On July 29, 2024, 5 hectares of land were scorched in the town of Payakumbuh. Although the fire has been extinguished, the BPBD team is on alert, coordinating with the West Sumatra Forestry Agency.

Fachri Hamzah

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