BNPB: Forest and Land Fires in Bangka Belitung Successfully Extinguished in Less Than 24 Hours

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has stated that forest and land fires (karhutla) in Central Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Islands, were successfully fully extinguished in less than 24 hours.

Speaking in Jakarta on Monday, the Acting Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Centre, Berton SP Panjaitan, noted that the fire was first detected on Sunday (4/10) afternoon and was immediately addressed by joint teams conducting ground-based water spraying.

Berton explained that the flames, which burned 1.5 hectares of vegetation, were localised and completely extinguished on the same day thanks to the rapid response and collaboration of cross-regional joint teams.

In this operation, several water tankers from the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) and the Central Bangka Fire Department were deployed to accelerate ground-based spraying, ensuring the flames were suppressed on the same day.

“There were no reports of casualties in the incident,” he said.

He stated that the BNPB continues to remind local authorities and the community in the Bangka Belitung Islands region to maintain high levels of preparedness, given the potential for new hotspots to emerge during this dry season.