Government Coordinates to Extinguish Forest Fires

Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi stated that the government has carried out cross-agency coordination in an effort to extinguish forest and land fires at various locations. Prasetyo, during a press briefing after a meeting at the DPR RI Building in Jakarta on Monday, said the government continues to coordinate with various relevant parties to attempt immediate extinguishing so that the fires do not spread. “Some of the areas with a very high number of hotspots are West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and a significant fire occurring in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, East Java. We continue to coordinate with the East Java Provincial Government, the Regional Military Commander, the Regional Police Chief, the Minister of Forestry, and the ranks of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Centre to make every possible effort to carry out the extinguishing process as soon as possible so it does not continue to spread,” he said. According to him, a coordination meeting has also been held with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency to design weather modification operations. Although weather modification is not feasible for all hotspots, the government continues to monitor developments periodically. “Then equipment including water bombing, helicopters, and aircraft that can help to tackle forest and land fires, in accordance with the directions and orders of the President last night, today we are coordinating all of it,” he stated. In addition, Prasetyo also appealed to the public to avoid activities that could cause sparks. “We appeal to the entire community that this is indeed very dry weather, making it prone to sparks, so we earnestly request all members of the public to be vigilant and avoid doing anything that could potentially cause uncontrollable fires,” he said. Previously, Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni emphasised that the President had instructed all government ranks to protect the public from the threat of forest and land fires during the dry season. “President Prabowo Subianto’s orders are clear: the government is ready to protect our citizens from the threat of forest and land fires. The state is present to prevent forest fires,” he said on Friday (7/8). He reminded that forest and land fires not only damage forests but also disrupt community life as they can trigger acute respiratory infections, force school closures, hamper economic activity, and disrupt airport operations. “This must not happen again,” said the Minister of Forestry. He is optimistic that Indonesia can reduce the number of forest and land fires even though this year’s El Niño is predicted to arrive earlier due to climate change. “Hopefully this year the number of forest and land fires will be much lower than in 2023, with the minimum possible impact on the community,” he said.