Riau Forest and Land Fires: Flames Approaching Residents' Settlements in Bengkalis

Manggala Agni teams from the Sumatera Regional Forest Fire Control Centre (BPKHWS) repelled forest and land fires (karhutla) heading towards residents’ settlements in Desa Kembung Luar, Bantan sub-district, Bengkalis district, Riau province. BPKHWS head Ferdian Krisnanto stated that the operation was carried out at night following requests from locals for protection against the forest and land fires (karhutla). “The team successfully secured several residents’ homes that were threatened by the fire,” he said in a statement received in Pekanbaru on Wednesday (8/4). Firefighting personnel from the Siak Area Operations Unit (Daops) are still conducting cooling processes to ensure the karhutla is fully extinguished and there is no further fire potential. At least three villages around Desa Kembung Luar have also experienced karhutla, including Desa Palkun (Bengkalis sub-district), handled by one Daops Pekanbaru unit. Its status is currently under cooling. Then, Desa Sekodi, handled by one Daops Siak unit and declared extinguished. Finally, Desa Kelemantan Barat (Bengkalis sub-district), also handled by one Daops Siak unit. Extinguishing efforts still need to be continued given the dense condition of the fire-causing materials. “The location still has a lot of acacia that serves as potential fuel. So the extinguishing is continued,” said Ferdian Krisnanto.