Forest and Land Fires in Banjarbaru Cover 1,263 Hectares Despite Decrease in Hotspots
Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Forest and land fires (karhutla) in Banjarbaru City, South Kalimantan, continue to pose a threat despite a decrease in the number of hotspots, with the affected area reaching 1,263.2 hectares in the last two months.
The decline in hotspots is not yet a sign that the fires have ended, as new hotspots continue to appear, especially in the Cempaka District, while haze once again enveloped several areas of Banjarbaru on Wednesday morning.
The Head of the Banjarbaru City Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Zaini Syahranie, stated in Banjarbaru on Wednesday that two high-category hotspots are still being monitored in the Cempaka District, while medium-category hotspots were found in the Landasan Ulin and Liang Anggang Districts.
“What is clear is that the number of fire points is certainly decreasing. However, new hotspots are emerging in the Cempaka District area,” he said.
To accelerate handling, he added, BPBD Banjarburg has established three forest fire posts to strengthen monitoring and response to fires emerging in several high-risk areas.
“Two posts are located in Pal 21, managed by members of the Liang Anggang community. They operate according to their respective territories,” he said.
In addition to preventing the expansion of fires, he explained, the presence of these posts is aimed at accelerating information dissemination and response when new hotspots appear, so that fires can be controlled before spreading to other areas.
On the other hand, smoke from the forest fires remains a threat to public health. The BPBD has reminded residents to increase vigilance against smoke exposure, especially when conducting outdoor activities in the morning.
“We have socialised to residents to use masks during certain times, such as during morning activities,” he said.
BPBD Banjarbaru has requested that the public should not assume that the decrease in the number of hotspots signifies a safe condition and should continue to play a role in prevention, including reporting the appearance of smoke or fire immediately so that handling can be carried out quickly before the area of the fires expands.