Firebreak Tactics Extinguish Forest and Land Fires in Pinrang, BNPB Urges Emergency Alert

Rocky hills in Taddakong Village, Lembang District, Pinrang Regency, South Sulawesi, turned into a sea of flames after forest and land fires swept through the area. Mounds of dry leaf litter piled between the rocks incinerated at least five hectares of land within hours. Facing the rapidly spreading blaze, a swift collaboration was undertaken by the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the National Police (Polri), and local residents. They employed the fire breaking method to sever the chain of fire propagation and prevent it from spreading to wider areas. The forest and land fire incident began on Saturday night (1/8). The geographical conditions in Lembang District posed a major challenge for field officers. The accumulation of dry leaf litter on the rocky hills created a natural furnace effect. This condition caused a small spark to quickly ignite a large blaze that threatened the surrounding protected forest area. On Monday (3/8), a recent report from local resident Firdaus indicated that hotspots had also appeared in Kanimpang Village, still within the Lembang District area. The emergence of these new hotspots suggests that the potential for forest and land fires in the region is massive and scattered. Joint officers were forced to conduct intensive monitoring until the early hours to anticipate subsequent fires. Head of the BNPB Data, Information, and Disaster Communication Centre, Abdul Muhari, stressed that the incident in Pinrang serves as a serious warning for other regions. Entering the peak of the dry season, Indonesia is now facing two simultaneous threats: drought and forest and land fires. BNPB has instructed all regional governments to raise their emergency alert status. This follows the potential extension of this year’s dry season due to the El Niño phenomenon and global climate change. Abdul Muhari cautioned that the combination of hot weather and strong winds can exponentially fuel fires, making public vigilance key to preventing a larger disaster.