BNPB: Fire Destroys 10 Hectares of Peatland in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra

The presence of helicopters is crucial in accelerating the monitoring and extinguishing of forest and land fires in South Sumatra.

Jakarta (ANTARA) - An area of 10 hectares of peatland in Ogan Ilir Regency, South Sumatra, was completely burned, as reported by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on Thursday.

Head of the Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Centre of BNPB, Abdul Muhari, stated in Jakarta on Thursday that the burned land was located in Palemraya Village, Indralaya Utara Subdistrict, Ogan Ilir.

The fire was reported to have occurred on Tuesday (7/4) afternoon, and a joint team of officers in Ogan Ilir succeeded in extinguishing the flames on Wednesday (8/4) through ground-based watering efforts.

According to reports received, strong winds and the extensive reach of the affected area posed challenges to the joint team, comprising personnel from BPBD, Fire Department, Manggala Agni, TNI/Polri, in taming the fire to prevent it from spreading further.

Ogan Ilir Regency is one of 12 regencies and cities in South Sumatra that are prone to forest and land fires, according to a report from the provincial Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).

Head of the South Sumatra BPBD, Iqbal Alisyahbana, previously stated that the local government is preparing to declare an alert status to support the handling of forest and land fires (karhutla).

This declaration of karhutla alert status will serve as the basis for requesting the needs of 10 helicopter units to strengthen firefighting responses, particularly in areas difficult to reach by ground teams.

Iqbal assessed that the presence of helicopters is crucial in accelerating the monitoring and extinguishing of karhutla in South Sumatra, thereby suppressing the potential spread of fire from the outset.

The need for these 10 helicopter units is based on experiences from handling karhutla in previous years. However, the number requested will still be adjusted according to the fire conditions and considering government budget efficiency.

“This also includes considering the efficiency of the government budget. But it will depend on the karhutla conditions,” he said.