Bangka Forest and Land Fire Task Force intensifies patrols to prevent fires

The Forest and Land Fire Task Force (Satgas Karhutla) of Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Islands Province, is intensifying patrols of forest areas to prevent forest and land fires.

“We are intensifying patrols at a number of points prone to forest and land fires given that the weather conditions remain hot,” said Head of the Bangka Regency Forest and Land Fire Task Force Ahmad Suherman in Sungailiat on Monday.

He stressed that patrols and monitoring of forests and land are being carried out as an early anticipatory measure, given that forest and land fires occur almost every day.

However, Ahmad Suherman said, anticipatory measures through field monitoring must be fully supported by the public, as the most effective way to prevent forest and land fires is the active role of the community in refraining from actions that could cause fires.

“In hot weather conditions like now, the public is prohibited from clearing land by burning and from carelessly discarding cigarette butts in forest areas. Sparks in forest areas threaten wider fires,” he said.

Based on preliminary data, the area of forest and land affected by fire from January 2026 to the present has reached 350 hectares, spread across a number of forest areas in sub-district territories.

“We remind and invite the entire community to jointly preserve the forest so that the rate of forest damage caused by various factors can be minimised as much as possible,” he said.

Ahmad Suherman said firefighting teams in the field continue to work hard to extinguish fires whenever forest fires occur, despite encountering various obstacles on the ground.

“I express great appreciation to the firefighting team who continue to struggle day and night to help extinguish fires burning forest areas,” he said.