Combined Task Force Continues to Battle Forest and Land Fires in Five Districts of Riau

A combined task force continues to struggle with extinguishing forest and land fires (karhutla) across five districts in Riau Province, whilst three other regions have been extinguished but remain in cooling stages.

Jim Gafur, Head of Emergency Affairs and Logistics at the Riau Provincial Disaster Management Agency and Fire Department (BPBD Damkar), stated that as of 15 March, fire points were still being monitored in eight districts.

In Bengkalis Regency, two fire points have been identified. The first is located in Teluk Lecah Village, Rupat District, where active fire points remain and firefighting operations are ongoing.

In Pelalawan Regency, there is one fire point in Pangkalan Terap Village, Teluk Meranti District, where smoke is still visible and suppression efforts continue.

Dumai City has two fire points: one in Teluk Makmur Ward, Medang Kampai District, where smoke remains and firefighting and cooling operations are underway, and another in Mundam Ward, Medang Kampai District, where smoke is still present and cooling procedures are being conducted.

Another fire point is located in Bekawan Dalam Village, Parit Hidayat, Mandah District, where the flames have been extinguished and cooling operations are in progress. Kampar Regency also has one fire point in Rimbo Panjang Village, Tambang District, where the fire has been completely extinguished.

Authorities have deployed three helicopters for aerial patrol operations: two from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and one from the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) of the Republic of Indonesia.