Manggala Agni Teams Battle to Extinguish Forest Fires in Sumatran Tiger Habitat Area in Riau

Pekanbaru — Manggala Agni Operational Area (Daops) VII Rengat teams in Riau Province continue efforts to extinguish forest and land fires in Pulau Muda Village, Teluk Meranti District, Pelalawan Regency, an area designated as a Sumatran tiger habitat.

Muhammad Ilham Sodik, Head of Manggala Agni Daops VII Rengat, stated that the fire affected approximately 2.5 hectares of land classified as Other Use Area (APL) with peatland soil. The burning vegetation primarily consisted of bracken shrubs and community-owned palm oil plantations.

“This fire location is a Sumatran tiger habitat area, so our teams remain vigilant during extinguishing operations in the field,” he said in a statement released in Pekanbaru on Wednesday.

The extinguishing efforts involved multiple agencies, including Manggala Agni Rengat teams, military and police personnel, Community Fire Care volunteers (MPA), and local government authorities.

The distance from water sources to the fire points, ranging from 300 to 400 metres, combined with strong wind conditions accelerating fire spread, significantly hampered extinguishing operations. Control measures included creating firebreaks to minimise fire spread around the affected area.

“Today’s focus is extinguishing the fire fronts moving towards residential areas to prevent further expansion,” he added.

In addition to Pulau Muda, Manggala Agni Daops VII Rengat teams prepared to address forest fires in Gambut Mutiara Village, also in Teluk Meranti District. One team was mobilised from Manggala Agni Rengat headquarters to the location.

“The team is currently at Pulau Muda Village and is scheduled to continue to Gambut Mutiara Village via river route in the morning, waiting for high tide conditions to facilitate access to the fire location,” he concluded.