Barito Selatan Regency Deploys Joint Team to Tackle Forest and Land Fires
Palangka Raya (ANTARA) - The Barito Selatan Regency Government, Central Kalimantan, has deployed 20<0xC2>er personnel in a joint team to handle forest and land fires (Karhutla) and drought in the local area.
“This joint team is carrying out integrated, coordinated, and cross-sectoral handling,” said the Regent of Barito Selatan, Eddy Raya Samsuri, during an evaluation meeting on forest fire prevention and handling at the Central Kalimantan level in Palangka Raya on Thursday.
According to him, the joint team prioritises response speed, firefighting effectiveness, the safety of personnel and the community, and the prevention of spreading forest fires.
Furthermore, he continued, as one of the strategic steps by the Barito Selatan Regency Government in anticipating and preventing the spread of forest fires, continuous monitoring of hotspots is also being conducted.
“Information on hotspot developments obtained from BMKG (Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency) is monitored and followed up on every day as part of the forest fire early warning system,” said Eddy Raya.
According to Eddy, hotspot data and information are subsequently communicated to all sub-district heads, Bhabinkamtibmas (community policing officers), Babinsa (territorial defence officers), local police sectors, military sub-districts, Village/Sub-district Heads, and other relevant elements. This serves as a basis for officials at the sub-district and village levels to immediately implement prevention measures, field verification, patrols, monitoring, and initial handling.
“With this mechanism, it is hoped that every indication of a fire spot can be immediately addressed, so that the potential for fire can be controlled as early as possible and does not develop into a wider fire,” he added.
Additionally, the Regent of Barito Selatan also stated that for the recapitulation of hotspots in Barito Selatan Regency throughout the period of 1 January - 30 August 2026, there were 2,037 recorded points spread across six sub-districts.
“The peak of hotspots occurred in August with 1,938 points, or 95.14 per cent of the total hotspots. The sub-district with the most hotspots is Dusun Hilir, with 877 points or 43.03 per cent of the total hotspots,” he said.
Eddy Raya also emphasised that the synergy of all involved elements is the main strength in accelerating response and increasing the effectiveness of forest fire handling.
“The Barito Selatan Regency Government is optimistic that forest fires can be handled effectively, quickly, and in a coordinated manner, while still prioritising the safety of personnel and the community and preventing the expansion of the disaster’s impact,” he said.
The Barito Selatan Regency Government also continues to strengthen efforts in prevention, early detection, firefighting, cooling, patrols, hotspot monitoring, as well as the handling and protection of affected communities.
Through these rapid, integrated, and collaborative steps, all elements are working together under a single command for a swift and directed response in handling forest fires.
“From all of this, we hope that forest fire handling in Barito Selatan can continue to be improved and provide a real contribution in supporting the Smoke-Free Central Kalimantan 2026 Programme,” concluded Eddy Raya.