More hot spots, haze detected on three islands

More hot spots, haze detected on three islands

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta/Medan

More provinces in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi islands are
showing hot spots, a strong indication of forest fires, with haze
already shrouding some areas of these provinces.

The director of the forest fires detection and evaluation
division at the Ministry of Forestry Willistra Danny said on
Wednesday that the ministry had detected a number of hot spots in
North Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, West and Central Kalimantan, and
Central and Southeast Sulawesi provinces.

"It is the first time we have detected hot spots in Sulawesi
during the current fires. Hot spots mostly occur in Riau and West
Kalimantan," he said. He failed, however, to specify the number
of hot spots.

The latest data from the ASEAN Specialized Meteorological
Centre (ASMC) satellite on May 29 showed there were 110 hot spots
in Riau province alone.

Teams of firefighters had been instructed to check the
locations of the hot spots.

Willistra said two teams in Riau consisting of 30 trainees
were being deployed in Dumai, the port used by the PT Caltex
Pacific Indonesia oil and gas company, to extinguish forest fires
in the area.

North Sumatra, Jambi, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan
have also deployed teams of firefighters.

"All of the team members have been trained to put out forest
fires. Now they are being deployed in the field in cooperation
with local administrations and companies," he said, referring to
cooperation between the Riau teams and Caltex.

In North Sumatra, thick haze from forest fires began to
blanket several areas in the province.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) reported that 48
hot spots were found on Wednesday in Labuhan Batu, South
Tapanuli, Tarutung and Dairi regencies, an increase from 20 last
week.

Visibility is also only between 1,000 and 2,000 meters.

"Within the last two weeks there has been no rain in North
Sumatra. This will encourage forest fires," BMG Medan head Firman
told the Jakarta Post.

The haze had reached a level that could endanger human health
but so far it had yet to endanger land, sea and air
transportation.

In Pekanbaru, Riau, Antara reported that choking haze had
limited visibility to only 300 meters.

Aside from the haze, the dust and the smell from the fires
were also bothering motorists in the city. Many drivers turned on
their headlights and reduced their speed even when the roads were
empty, fearing possible traffic accidents.

Local people hoped the responsible authorities would take
concrete action to tackle the fires.

"Don't only talk in the newspapers. They must take definite
action to stop the forest fires as the haze has reached alarming
levels in Riau," Hendra said.

Riau forestry office director Syuhada has warned 40 companies
in the province not to clear land using the slash and burn
method.

Forest fires have become an annual problem in Indonesia due to
land clearance activities using the slash and burn method. The
method has been banned by the government but forestry companies
and local people continued to practice it as it is cheaper than
other methods. So far, Malaysian company PT Adei Plantation has
been fined US$1.1 million for clearing land using the slash and
burn method.

Forest fires have also spread choking haze annually over
Singapore and Malaysia, forcing the two countries to often cancel
flights.