Forest and Land Fires in West Kotawaringin: Eight Hectares Scorched in Two Days

The Government of West Kotawaringin Regency (Kobar), Central Kalimantan, has reported a surge in forest and land fires (karhutla) within its territory. In just two days, approximately eight hectares of land have been scorched. The latest incident occurred in the Karanganyar area, Mendawai Village, Arut Selatan District, where firefighting operations were only declared complete around 4:30 PM WIB after personnel battled the flames for hours on peatland.

Adnan Santana, the Acting Head of the Emergency and Logistics Division at the Kobar Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), stated that dry weather and strong winds were major obstacles to extinguishing the fires. He noted that six separate fire incidents were handled over the two-day period, forcing teams to move continuously from one location to another.

The six fire locations included Karanganyar in Mendawai Village, Arut Selatan District; Kumpai Batu Bawah RT 9; Jalan Holim Tambang Pasir SM 3 in Kubu Village; and two separate spots in the Sungai Ayam RT 9 area, Kubu Village. An additional fire was also reported in Amin Jaya RT 14, Pangkalan Banteng District, which occurred on Thursday evening.

Adnan Santana explained that extinguishing the fires took much longer than usual because the flames had spread to peatland areas. He emphasised that personnel had to ensure the embers beneath the surface were completely extinguished to prevent them from reigniting when fanned by the wind. The BPBD is prioritising all affected locations to stop the fires from spreading to residential areas and productive community land.