Manggala Agni Struggles to Extinguish Forest and Land Fires in Pelalawan, Riau

Pekanbaru, (ANTARA) - A combined Manggala Agni team is still striving to extinguish a forest and land fire (karhutla) covering 4 hectares in Teluk Dalam Ward, Kuala Kampar District, Pelalawan Regency, Riau Province. “The estimated area is temporarily around 4 hectares for one location being handled. For another location, measurements are still being conducted,” said the Head of the Sumatera Region Forest and Land Fire Control Centre, Ferdian Krisnanto, in a statement received in Pekanbaru on Saturday. He explained that the extinguishing operation is being carried out by one Manggala Agni squad from Daops Sumatera VII/Rengat, along with personnel from the Sumatera Forest and Land Fire Control Centre, local residents, and the district task force. According to Ferdian, the fire conditions in the field are still active, although parts of the area are beginning to be controlled. Several points on the fire’s flanks are still emitting smoke, requiring further handling. In addition to ground extinguishing efforts, handling at other fire locations is also assisted through aerial operations using one helicopter unit for “water bombing” from the Air Task Force. Fortunately, light rain that fell at the fire location is hoped to help the extinguishing process the following day. “Conditions at the location experienced light rain, hopefully it can help with water availability and extinguish the remaining embers,” he said. It is known that on Saturday, 8 hotspots were detected in Riau Province based on data from the Pekanbaru Station of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency. The hotspots are spread across Pelalawan Regency (4), Siak (3), and Indragiri Hilir (1).