BNPB Detects Rising Hotspots and Fire Points in Kalimantan and Sumatra

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has identified that hotspots and fire points on the islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra are tending to increase, with some even rising significantly.

“The data displayed on our screen shows the presence of hotspots or heat points and fire spots found in the field. We can see that in West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan, all these points are rising, and some are even significant, such as in West Kalimantan,” said Berton SP Panjaitan, Acting Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Centre, during a press conference held at the BNPB office in Jakarta on Saturday (29/8).

“Likewise in Sumatra, there are also increases in hotspots, such as in Riau and Jambi, where the hotspots are rising,” he continued.

Nevertheless, Berton noted a decrease in fire points in three provinces. He expressed appreciation for the collaborative efforts undertaken by all parties.

He added that his agency, in cooperation with relevant parties, remains committed to making every effort to extinguish fires promptly and to carry out cooling operations.

“As we have stated, to reduce fire points and hotspots, we are certainly still undertaking various efforts to bring them down,” he added.

He stated that ground operations for forest and land fires will continue to be carried out by the joint task force in the field, comprising teams from the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the Indonesian National Police (Polri), Manggala Agni, the Forest and Land Fire Operations Unit (Daops), the Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP), the Environment and Forestry Service, volunteers, fire-aware communities, and the private sector.

“Our focus is certainly on patrols, how we conduct patrols so that we can see whether there are new fires, fires that are developing, or indeed large fires,” he said.

“When we find a new fire, for example, our team will certainly try to extinguish it as quickly as possible so that it does not spread everywhere. With this ground check, we can achieve a resolution earlier than at the outset. However, when it has already become large, we will certainly coordinate with the Air Task Force team if water bombing can be carried out, for example, and that will still be done,” he continued.