Fire destroys Lampung forest

Fire destroys Lampung forest

BANDAR LAMPUNG, Lampung: Fire razed some 2,000 hectares of
forest in the Mesuji district in North Lampung this week.

A.S.M. Panjaitan, the Lampung Forestry Chief, said the fire
has caused financial losses exceeding Rp 4 billion ($1.9
million).

Some 200 forest rangers have been sent to the area to contain
the fire, Panjaitan said.

He said that the authorities had thought that the fire had
been extinguished on Monday. "But the severe dry spell, the
extreme heat and the strong wind combined to revive the flames
and the fire has since been spreading to a wider area."

He added that the effort had been hampered by the lack of
water in the area because most of the rivers have already dried
up.

The fire is spreading in three different localities in Mesuji
-- in Hanakau, Muara Dua and Mesuji, he said. The forest in the
three areas total about 28,000 hectares. (emb)