Drones and Helicopters Deployed to Combat 7-Hectare Peatland Fire in Riau

The Manggala Agni firefighting task force, under the Ministry of Forestry, is working to extinguish a forest and land fire that has burned 7 hectares of peatland in Pulau Serdang Village, Rokan Hilir Regency, Riau. Ferdian Krisnanto, Head of the Sumatra Forest and Land Fire Control Centre, confirmed that a reinforcement team from the Dumai Operations Area was dispatched on Friday to support the suppression efforts. Upon arrival, the team immediately began measuring the perimeter and searching for water sources. To gain a comprehensive view of the fire’s spread across the peatland, officers deployed drones for aerial surveillance. The operation is also supported by the Riau Province Air Task Force, which has deployed helicopters for water bombing. Despite these combined efforts, personnel are struggling with a lack of mobile phone signal in the area, making real-time coordination between ground teams, air units, and the command centre difficult. The dry peatland conditions in Rokan Hilir are a serious concern, as fires can spread beneath the surface, requiring extra care during the post-extinguishment cooling process. According to the Pekanbaru Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency, there are currently 24 hotspots detected across Riau Province, with Siak and Rokan Hilir regencies having the highest concentrations.