Haze still a problem in Pekanbaru and Jambi, officials warn

Haze still a problem in Pekanbaru and Jambi, officials warn

Puji Santoso and Jon Afrizal, Pekanbaru/Jambi

Residents in Pekanbaru city felt relieved on Monday after a
thick, acrid haze finally cleared a bit, suggesting that worst
was over for now.

But local government officials said that they were still going
to remain vigilant to prevent a possible return of the smoke --
mostly from forest and brush fires in the area -- saying that
they were preparing necessary measures to tackle it.

Khairul Zainal, the head of Riau Environment Impact Control
Office (Bappedal), said that the scale had decreased, with the
pollution index down to some 100 particle matter (PM) points on
Monday from some 200 PM points on Friday.

"Despite the encouraging signs, we remain vigilant. We have to
be on high alert for forest fires that could bring the haze
problem back to the city," Khairul told The Jakarta Post at his
office.

In the city, the hazy skies were still evident in the morning,
but it seemed to gradually clear by the afternoon. Forest fires
have been the prime cause.

Khairul said that forest and brush fires had occurred
frequently this year, with over 650 hectares had been affected in
the province.

In order to minimize the impact of the fires, Bappedal and the
forestry office in the province have put eight fire trucks on
alert -- four of which were donated by local companies. "The
trucks are ready to be dispatched to any location in the province
to help put out fires, including those in forests," he claimed.

Forestry and Plantation officials have also alerted all their
units and outposts in various regencies and municipalities to
detect and control forest fires.

Separately, Health Office at the Pekanbaru Municipal
Government said that there had been no reported fatalities from
the thick smoke in the city, although the haze had caused eye
irritations and sore throats.

"We haven't received reports from hospitals or community
health centers on the number of victims in the haze disaster,"
said Syaiful Bahri Rab, the head of Health Office at the
Pekanbaru municipality.

Syaiful suggested that people wear masks in the meantime to
prevent respiratory-related ailments, until the haze was
completely gone.

Separately, in the neighboring province of Jambi, the number
of hot spots -- smoldering brush or forest fires -- in the
province has increased rapidly, raising concerns that the air in
Jambi could soon be affected much the same as Pekanbaru.

Local authorities said that based on satellite monitoring by
the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the
Forest Fire Prevention Control Project in the province, 29 hot
spots were discovered on Friday, but the number soared to 98 on
Sunday.

The hot spots were detected in eight of the 10
regencies/municipalities in the province. The practice of slash
and burn clearing of the forests by squatters and/or farmers has
been blamed as the cause, said Joko Fajar, a senior official from
Jambi's Forestry Office.

The practice was banned by the government, following a series
of uncontrolled fires that spread smoke and thick haze over most
of Sumatra, Singapore and Malaysia for months on end in 1997 and
1998.