Forest and Land Fires in Pematang Pudu, Bengkalis Expand to 81 Hectares

Firefighting operations for forest and land fires in the Pematang Pudu area, Mandau District, Bengkalis Regency, Riau, are reported to be expanding. Based on the latest data, the estimated area of land burned has now reached 81 hectares.

Head of the Sumatra Forest Fire Control Brigade, Ferdian Krisnanto, stated that although the active flames have been successfully extinguished, teams on the ground must still work extra hard to deal with the remaining smoke. This is to ensure the fire does not reignite and that the handling is completely thorough.

‘Active flames have been extinguished, but smoke management must continue until it is completely resolved. Today’s estimated area is 81 hectares,’ said Ferdian on Sunday evening.

Previously, drone monitoring by the Manggala Agni ground firefighting team estimated the burned area at 80 hectares. However, the ongoing smoky conditions in Pematang Pudu require further action. Four teams are scheduled to continue firefighting operations on Monday morning, marking the sixth day of the effort.

Apart from Bengkalis, joint teams consisting of ground and aerial firefighters using water bombing helicopters are also focusing operations on two other regencies, namely Rokan Hulu and Indragiri Hulu. In Rokan Hulu, Ferdian confirmed that the fire in Kasang Pasang Village has been completely extinguished after three days of intensive handling. The operation involved one Manggala Agni team from the Pekanbaru Operations Unit along with other relevant parties.

Meanwhile, in Indragiri Hulu Regency, specifically in Barangan Village near the Sumatra Eastern Cross Road, the fire was also declared fully extinguished on the second day of operations, with a total affected area of 1.77 hectares.