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.