OKI Regency Declares Emergency Alert for Forest and Land Fires
Palembang (ANTARA) - The Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) Regency Government in South Sumatra has declared an emergency alert status for forest and land fires (Karhutla) as a preemptive measure ahead of the 2026 dry season.
Acting Head of the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) of OKI, Nova Triyussanto, stated in an interview from Palembang on Saturday that this declaration is the first of its kind in South Sumatra this year.
“This emergency alert status has been set early as an anticipatory step to face the dry season, which is predicted to be quite extreme this year,” he said.
The declaration of the emergency alert status is based on the Regent of OKI’s Decree Number 135/KEP/BPBD/2026, and it is effective from 14 April to 31 December 2026.
With this status, all relevant parties are expected to increase their readiness, from prevention efforts and integrated patrols to rapid handling if fires occur.
Cross-agency coordination is also being strengthened with the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), National Police (Polri), Manggala Agni, and community groups concerned with fire prevention.
“We hope that all parties will work together to prevent forest, plantation, and land fires,” he said.
In addition, the OKI BPBD will intensify socialisation to the public, particularly in fire-prone areas, to avoid opening land by burning.
The agency also urges the public not to carry out land burning, as it not only damages the environment but can also result in legal sanctions.
Based on data from the Forest and Land Fire Control Information System (Sipongi) of the Ministry of Forestry, the area of Karhutla in South Sumatra throughout 2025 reached 5,939.8 hectares.
Mineral land was the most extensively burned area at 5,558.2 hectares, while peatland reached 381.6 hectares.
OKI Regency was recorded as the region with the largest fire area in South Sumatra, namely 1,361.9 hectares, consisting of 333.4 hectares of peatland and 1,028.5 hectares of mineral land.