Forest fire in Way Kambas National Park extinguished

The fire that burned the land was in the southern region, while elephants mostly reside in the northern part of Way Kambas.

Banjarbaru (ANTARA) - Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said the forest and land fire (karhutla) in Way Kambas National Park (TNWK) in Lampung has been extinguished after burning 600 hectares of land.

“The report from the Head of the Agency is that it was fully brought under control last night,” said the Forestry Minister in Banjarbaru on Sunday.

A joint team of 250 personnel was deployed to extinguish the fire, assisted by local residents.

Based on drone monitoring, he said, the fire in Way Kambas also did not impact the wild elephant herds.

The Forestry Minister said the fire that burned the land was in the southern region, while elephants mostly reside in the northern part of Way Kambas.

Nevertheless, Raja Juli still asked officers to remain on full alert during the dry season to anticipate the re-emergence of hotspots so that when they occur, officers are ready to carry out extinguishing operations.

“We thank all parties for their assistance, especially the TNI-Polri in extinguishing the fire as well as community volunteers,” he added.

The Forestry Minister was in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan to inspect the handling of forest and land fires that have burned large areas of vacant land around Syamsudin Noor International Airport.