Forest and land fires spread across three sub-districts in West Aceh
The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of West Aceh Regency, together with a joint task force, is continuing efforts to extinguish fires across three sub-districts currently affected by forest and land fires (karhutla).
“Currently, the total area of land burned has reached nine hectares,” said Acting Head of the West Aceh BPBD, Teuku Ronald Nehdiansyah, to reporters on Tuesday.
The detected fire locations are spread across three sub-districts: Meureubo, Samatiga, and Johan Pahlawan in West Aceh Regency.
Teuku Ronald stated that based on field team data, the total affected area includes Meureubo Sub-district, specifically Gunong Kleng Village covering 0.5 hectares, and Samatiga Sub-district, covering Cot Seumeureng Village at 3 hectares and Paya Lumpat Village at 3 hectares.
He explained that the fire at Gunong Kleng Village in Meureubo Sub-district has been completely extinguished, with 100 per cent of the blaze put out.
However, intensive firefighting and containment efforts are still ongoing in Samatiga and Johan Pahlawan sub-districts. For the locations of Cot Seumeureng, Paya Lumpat, Lapang, and Leuhan villages, the suppression process has currently reached approximately 35 per cent. The exact cause of the fire outbreaks is still under investigation, he added.
Firefighting operations on the ground are facing several significant challenges. The limited availability of water sources and strong winds at the locations are the main obstacles for the joint team in extinguishing the flames.
To prevent the fires from spreading further, the West Aceh BPBD has deployed various vehicles and equipment, including two water supply units, fire engines from headquarters and the Meureubo post, a D-Max unit, water pump machines, as well as support from two firefighting units from the 116th Infantry Battalion/Garda Samudra.
The firefighting operation involves a joint team comprising personnel from the West Aceh BPBD, the Meureubo Fire Service post, the Indonesian National Armed Forces, the Indonesian National Police, the Operations Control Centre, Fire and Rescue Team III, a student group (UKM PK UTU), and local residents working together to tame the blaze.