Bushfires continue in Sampit

Bushfires continue in Sampit

SAMPIT, Central Kalimantan: A haze from bush and farmland
fires that have blazed for several days continued to blanket
Sampit, the capital of Kotawaringin regency, on Wednesday.

The local fire chief, Rusli, said fires were still raging in
six spots across the regency, including along the highway
connecting the town and the provincial capital of Palangkaraya
and in front of the penitentiary located in the town.

"It's difficult for us to put out the fires because of a lack
of personnel and equipment," Rusli said.

Efforts to put out the blazes also have been hampered by the
fact that the some of the fires are burning on peatland.

The failure to extinguish the fires have been blamed in part
on the regency administration, which did not allocate money to
cover the operational costs of the fire brigade, not to mention
the six months of unpaid salaries owed the firefighters. --
Antara