Kodam XXIII/PW and joint forces extinguish forest and land fires in Donggala
Kodam XXIII/Palaka Wira, together with joint elements, has successfully extinguished forest and land fires (karhutla) in Alindau Village, Sindue Tobata District, Donggala Regency, Central Sulawesi.
“Handling was carried out intensively by prioritising the detection of fire spots using drones, the deployment of personnel to the location, as well as support from vehicles and firefighting equipment,” said Head of Military Regional Information (Kapendam) XXIII/Palaka Wira, Lieutenant Colonel Inf Ronald Patty, in Palu on Saturday.
He said the handling of the forest and land fires was carried out in an integrated manner involving TNI personnel, the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the fire service, the police, and the community.
He explained that the forest and land fires affected an area of around 10 hectares in the Alindau Village area. Based on the results of monitoring using drones by personnel from Infantry Battalion TP 873/MM on Thursday (20/8) from 06.03 WITA, three fire spots were found, namely two spots in Hamlet II and one spot in Hamlet VI.
After a personnel inspection roll call, the joint team immediately moved to the location to carry out firefighting. By midday, two fire spots had been successfully extinguished, while one fire spot in Hamlet II was still being handled.
Subsequently, personnel from Military District Command 1306/KP together with Infantry Battalion TP 873/MM and Infantry Brigade TP 30/KN were redeployed to extinguish the fire spot that was still burning.
In this operation, a total of 169 personnel were deployed, consisting of 87 TNI personnel, 14 BPBD personnel, 50 members of the community, 14 fire service personnel, and four personnel from Sindue Police Sector.
In addition, the firefighting efforts were supported by fire engines belonging to the TNI and the Donggala Regency Government as well as backpack pumps.
He said the handling of the forest and land fires did not stop after the fire was successfully extinguished. Follow-up monitoring and checks continued to be carried out to ensure that no fire spots reappeared and to prevent the fire from spreading.
“After all fire spots were declared extinguished, the personnel returned to their respective units,” he said.
He emphasised that Kodam XXIII/Palaka Wira will continue to synergise with the regional government, security forces, and the community in preventing and handling forest and land fires, particularly in the Central Sulawesi and West Sulawesi regions.