Forest fires spread across E. Kalimantan

Forest fires spread across E. Kalimantan

Rusman, The Jakarta Post/Samarinda

Fires from forests and farmland have spread across East
Kalimantan, causing haze in cities and towns around the province.

Local officials said on Thursday that farmers had lit the
fires, some of which had been detected in conservation areas.

"The forest fires were set by residents to clear land. Most
burned areas are close to roads, so smoke can clearly been seen,"
said Kusnadi, an official with the forest fire control task force
at the East Kalimantan forestry office.

He said that 102 hot spots had been recorded on Aug. 18, 2004,
a sharp increase from only three hot spots recorded a day earlier
by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) via
satellite.

Thirty-nine hot spots were detected in Kutai Kertanegara
regency, 25 in Berau regency, 20 in East Kutai regency, eight in
Bulungan, four in Pasir and two in Nunukan and Malinau, while one
hot spot was detected in both Samarinda and West Kutai.

Kusnadi said his office had reported the matter to the East
Kalimantan governor so he could take measures to avoid conditions
worsening.

"East Kalimantan could be placed on alert," he said.

Kusnadi said his office had also notified all municipal and
regency administrations to take anticipatory measures amid fears
that fires could spread further.

Haze from forest fires could be seen in Samarinda on Tuesday
morning. However, it did not disrupt flights to or from the city.
Residents have not been advised to wear masks.

Areas affected by fire include land within the Bukit Soeharto
conservation forest, which is adjacent to the Balikpapan-
Samarinda highway, and part of the Kutai National Park (TNK).

Malaysian authorities have complained about haze originating
from fires in Kalimantan, saying they had ordered one million
face masks and were taking measures to encourage rainfall in an
effort to reduce the effects of the smoke.

Air quality in Seri Aman district in Sarawak state has been
rated "unhealthy" because of wildfires in Indonesia's Kalimantan
province, The Star cited Sarawak deputy chief minister George Tan
as saying.

"The smoke carried by the wind from Kalimantan is turning in
to our direction and is hitting us," Tan told the daily. "One
million masks are now on standby and ready for distribution
throughout the state."

Tan said the hazy conditions had been aggravated by a lack of
rain, adding that his government was preparing to launch cloud
seeding operations, in which chemicals are fired into clouds to
induce downpours.

Environment officials said the overall air quality in Sarawak
state on Borneo and in the rest of Malaysia was moderate although
visibility in some areas was bad.