Securing Sumatra Migration Route from Forest and Land Fires, Forestry Ministry Deploys Manggala Agni
The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) continues to strengthen efforts to control forest and land fires (karhutla). Kemenhut has mobilised both land and aerial resource support in Riau Province as a precautionary measure against the potential escalation of forest and land fires ahead of Eid al-Fitr 1447 H. The ministry has deployed three Manggala Agni units to secure karhutla in Rantau Bais, Rokan Hilir (Rohil), Riau.
Thomas Nifinluri, Director of Forest Fire Control, stated that Kemenhut is handling karhutla in Rantau Bais, Rohil by deploying three Manggala Agni units on assignment from the Sumatra VI/Siak Daops, Daops Manggala Agni Sumatra II/Labuhanbatu Selatan, and one unit from Daops Manggala Agni Sumatra V/Dumai. Conditions have improved to date, as evidenced by the clear Riau-North Sumatra transit route without smoke disruptions.
In addition to securing the Riau-North Sumatra migration route, several Manggala Agni units have been deployed to handle karhutla in Kampar, Bengkalis, Dumai and Pelalawan, with additional personnel brought in from Daops Manggala Agni Sumatra XI/Bukit Tempurung-Jambi to support Daops Manggala Agni Sumatra VII/Rengat.
Thomas reported that according to monitoring from the SiPongi website using NASA-Terra/Aqua satellite data with high confidence level from March 1-15, 2026, Riau Province detected 49 hotspots distributed across Pelalawan District (42), Indragiri Hilir (2), Dumai (4), and Kampar (1).
“Given the detection of hotspots at various locations, Manggala Agni and other relevant parties in the regions have also reported karhutla management efforts. During March 1-15, 2026, a total of 48 karhutla management operations were carried out, successfully treating 78.2 hectares across Dumai, Bengkalis, Pelalawan, Rokan Hilir, Indragiri Hilir, and Kampar municipalities/cities,” Thomas explained on Tuesday (17 March).
“In addition to fire suppression operations, strengthened monitoring through aerial patrols has been undertaken to improve early detection and accelerate field response measures. A Bell helicopter for aerial patrol is currently approaching Roesmin Nurjadin Air Base in Pekanbaru to support aerial patrol activities for monitoring fire-prone regions in Riau Province,” he added.
Thomas stated that aerial patrol operations are planned to continue until the end of April with approximately 65 flight hours in total. During the operation, the Air Task Force Team will be stationed at Roesmin Nurjadin Air Base in Pekanbaru as the coordination centre for aerial patrol implementation in Riau.
“We extend our gratitude to the Commander of Roesmin Nurjadin Air Base and his staff, particularly the Operations Director and Operations Chief, for their excellent support and cooperation in bolstering karhutla control readiness through aerial patrols. The aerial patrol team, comprising members from the Ministry of Forestry, Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Regional Environmental and Forestry Service (DLHK), National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU), and Riau Provincial Government, will conduct scheduled aerial patrols to strengthen monitoring of fire-prone areas and support early detection of forest and land fire incidents,” he concluded.