BNPB operates four water bombing helicopters to tackle forest and land fires in South Kalimantan

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) is operating four water bombing helicopters to help tackle forest and land fires (karhutla) in South Kalimantan. “Four helicopters are already on standby in South Kalimantan, all of them operated today,” said Ariansyah, Head of the Preparedness Subdivision at the South Kalimantan Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), in Banjarbaru on Monday. Previously, only three water bombing helicopters had been used over the past month. The latest addition is one helicopter redeployed from forest and land fire operations in Riau. From the entire aerial operation, more than one million litres of water have been dropped on burning land that is difficult for ground crews to reach. Ariansyah expressed hope that with the strengthened aerial operation, efforts to extinguish forest and land fires can be more optimal. In addition to joint personnel, efforts on the ground to extinguish fires continue to be optimised according to the assigned task areas.