Drought and Forest Fires in Tasikmalaya Spread to 19 Districts

The Tasikmalaya Regency government has officially declared a state of emergency for drought and forest and land fires (karhutla). The impact of the prolonged dry season, exacerbated by the El Niño phenomenon, has now spread to 86 villages across 19 districts.

This condition has triggered a severe clean water crisis and an increase in fire incidents. The head of the Regional Technical Implementation Unit (UPTD) for the Fire Department, Agus Toni, stated that the long dry season has caused rivers to shrink and grasslands to dry out, sparking fires in both open land and residential areas.

“Personnel must be on standby to deal with various fires, such as at the Cinangsih landfill in Mangunreja District, and grass fires in Jamanis and Sukaresik Districts. On the other hand, we also have to assist in supplying clean water to 86 villages,” Agus Toni said on Thursday.

The intensity of the work has taken a toll on the firefighters. Agus noted that the depletion of water sources in rivers and fish ponds is a major obstacle in extinguishing fires. He added that the limited number of personnel, who only have two sets of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)—one of which is damaged—has led to extreme physical fatigue among at least 10 firefighters. Budget constraints also hinder the maintenance of the operational fleet.

“Vehicle maintenance is not budgeted because the UPTD Fire Department is only a beneficiary, and our number of personnel is still very insufficient,” he added.

The Head of the Tasikmalaya Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Roni AKS, confirmed that requests for clean water assistance from the community continue to rise as the impacts of climate change widen. The emergency status is set to last until September. During this period, the BPBD is collaborating with the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the Indonesian National Police (Polri), the Tirta Sukapura Regional Water Company (Perumda), and Arta Galunggung to distribute clean water to affected areas.

“Water supply efforts are carried out non-stop by BPBD and fire department personnel. The schedule is so packed that officers, exhausted after extinguishing fires, are forced to sleep on vacant land to maintain readiness,” Roni concluded.