Joint Team Tames Wildfire on Jambi-South Sumatra Border

A joint team has successfully extinguished a forest and land fire (karhutla) that occurred on the border between Jambi and South Sumatra provinces. Officers are currently conducting cooling operations at the site to prevent the fire from rekindling, while simultaneously investigating the cause of the blaze. The fire broke out near Air Merah Hamlet, Ladang Panjang Village, Sungai Gelam District, Muaro Jambi Regency, an area bordering Musi Banyuasin Regency in South Sumatra. “It has been extinguished and cooling is underway. The location is on the border with Palembang (Musi Banyuasin),” said Paruhuman Lubis, Head of the Muaro Jambi Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), in Sengeti on Thursday. According to Paruhuman, the firefighting effort was carried out by a joint team consisting of the Jambi Provincial BPBD, Muaro Jambi Regency BPBD, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the Police, the Manggala Agni fire brigade, and assistance from the local community. He stated that the fire began on Wednesday afternoon (15/7). After receiving the report, the team immediately headed to the location to extinguish the fire and managed to bring it under control by Thursday (16/7). Paruhuman admitted that he could not yet confirm the total area of land burned. However, he confirmed that the affected area is mineral land located close to a peatland zone. Although the fire has been successfully extinguished, officers remain on standby at the location to carry out cooling operations in anticipation of new hotspots emerging.