The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) continues to strengthen efforts\nto control forest and land fires (karhutla). Kemenhut has mobilised both\nland and aerial resource support in Riau Province as a precautionary\nmeasure against the potential escalation of forest and land fires ahead\nof Eid al-Fitr 1447 H. The ministry has deployed three Manggala Agni\nunits to secure karhutla in Rantau Bais, Rokan Hilir (Rohil), Riau.<\/p>\n
Thomas Nifinluri, Director of Forest Fire Control, stated that\nKemenhut is handling karhutla in Rantau Bais, Rohil by deploying three\nManggala Agni units on assignment from the Sumatra VI\/Siak Daops, Daops\nManggala Agni Sumatra II\/Labuhanbatu Selatan, and one unit from Daops\nManggala Agni Sumatra V\/Dumai. Conditions have improved to date, as\nevidenced by the clear Riau-North Sumatra transit route without smoke\ndisruptions.<\/p>\n
In addition to securing the Riau-North Sumatra migration route,\nseveral Manggala Agni units have been deployed to handle karhutla in\nKampar, Bengkalis, Dumai and Pelalawan, with additional personnel\nbrought in from Daops Manggala Agni Sumatra XI\/Bukit Tempurung-Jambi to\nsupport Daops Manggala Agni Sumatra VII\/Rengat.<\/p>\n
Thomas reported that according to monitoring from the SiPongi website\nusing NASA-Terra\/Aqua satellite data with high confidence level from\nMarch 1-15, 2026, Riau Province detected 49 hotspots distributed across\nPelalawan District (42), Indragiri Hilir (2), Dumai (4), and Kampar\n(1).<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the detection of hotspots at various locations, Manggala Agni\nand other relevant parties in the regions have also reported karhutla\nmanagement efforts. During March 1-15, 2026, a total of 48 karhutla\nmanagement operations were carried out, successfully treating 78.2\nhectares across Dumai, Bengkalis, Pelalawan, Rokan Hilir, Indragiri\nHilir, and Kampar municipalities\/cities,\u201d Thomas explained on Tuesday\n(17 March).<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition to fire suppression operations, strengthened monitoring\nthrough aerial patrols has been undertaken to improve early detection\nand accelerate field response measures. A Bell helicopter for aerial\npatrol is currently approaching Roesmin Nurjadin Air Base in Pekanbaru\nto support aerial patrol activities for monitoring fire-prone regions in\nRiau Province,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Thomas stated that aerial patrol operations are planned to continue\nuntil the end of April with approximately 65 flight hours in total.\nDuring the operation, the Air Task Force Team will be stationed at\nRoesmin Nurjadin Air Base in Pekanbaru as the coordination centre for\naerial patrol implementation in Riau.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe extend our gratitude to the Commander of Roesmin Nurjadin Air\nBase and his staff, particularly the Operations Director and Operations\nChief, for their excellent support and cooperation in bolstering\nkarhutla control readiness through aerial patrols. The aerial patrol\nteam, comprising members from the Ministry of Forestry, Regional\nDisaster Management Agency (BPBD), Regional Environmental and Forestry\nService (DLHK), National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Indonesian\nAir Force (TNI AU), and Riau Provincial Government, will conduct\nscheduled aerial patrols to strengthen monitoring of fire-prone areas\nand support early detection of forest and land fire incidents,\u201d he\nconcluded.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/securing-sumatra-migration-route-from-forest-and-land-fires-forestry-ministry-deploys-manggala-agni-1773712436", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }