Drones and Helicopters Deployed to Combat 7-Hectare Peatland Fire in Riau
The Manggala Agni team of the Forest and Land Fire Control Centre for the Sumatra Region, Ministry of Forestry, has discovered a 7-hectare forest and land fire (karhutla) in Pulau Serdang village, Simpang Kanan subdistrict, Rokan Hilir regency, Riau province.
Ferdian Krisnanto, head of the Sumatra Forest and Land Fire Control Centre (Dalkarhut), confirmed that an additional squad from the Dumai Operational Area (Daops) had been dispatched since Friday (10/7) to strengthen firefighting efforts in Riau. The team reached the location in the late afternoon and immediately began measuring access routes.
“The location is in Pulau Serdang village, Simpang Kanan subdistrict, Rokan Hilir. The initial estimate of the affected area is around 7 hectares on peat soil,” Ferdian said in an official statement in Pekanbaru on Saturday (11/7).
Ferdian explained that the team on the ground is currently focused on monitoring the fire perimeter and finding the nearest water source. To obtain a comprehensive picture of the fire’s spread across the peatland, officers are also flying unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones.
Previously, the initial team from Daops Dumai had already been at the location since the fire was detected on Thursday (9/7) afternoon. However, based on measurements and field evaluations, additional personnel were required to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading further.
“The measurements showed the need for additional personnel, so the team on standby at Daops Dumai was finally mobilised. This is certainly a further alarm bell for the Riau region,” he affirmed.
In addition to ground firefighting, the Riau Provincial Air Task Force (Satgas) has also deployed a water bombing helicopter to assist with aerial suppression. Even so, officers face technical constraints in the field in the form of minimal cellular signal access.
This blank spot condition complicates coordination between ground teams, air teams, and real-time reporting of the situation to the command centre.
According to data from the Pekanbaru station of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), a total of 24 hotspots have been detected in Riau province. Siak and Rokan Hilir regencies are the areas with the highest concentration of hotspots.
The dry peatland conditions in Rokan Hilir are a serious concern because of the fire’s characteristic ability to spread beneath the ground surface, requiring extra care during the post-extinguishing cooling process.