South Sumatra BPBD Extinguishes Forest Fires at Two Locations in Muba

The South Sumatra Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) has successfully extinguished forest and land fires (karhutla) that occurred at two locations in Musi Banyuasin Regency (Muba) through an aerial firefighting operation using a helicopter. Sudirman, Head of the Emergency Handling Division at South Sumatra BPBD, stated in Palembang on Friday that the fires were detected in Batanghari Leko District and Sanga Desa District while the team was conducting an aerial patrol in fire-prone areas. “From the results of the aerial monitoring, the burned land area is estimated to be around four hectares, with each spot covering approximately two hectares,” he said. He explained that the fires occurred in Lubuk Bintialo Village, Batanghari Leko District, and Ulak Mbacang Village, Sanga Desa District. Hot weather conditions and dry vegetation meant the fire had the potential to spread, thus rapid handling was carried out. Extinguishing operations in Lubuk Bintialo Village were successfully completed after the helicopter conducted 11 water bombing runs over the burned area. “For the location in Sanga Desa, it is still producing smoke. It will be monitored again today, and further handling will be carried out if potential for the fire to spread is found,” he clarified. South Sumatra BPBD will also continue aerial patrols in several other areas with a high level of vulnerability to forest and land fires during the dry season. The agency also appealed to the public not to clear land by burning, as this can trigger larger fires that are difficult to control. The public was also asked to immediately report if they discover any hotspots so that handling can be carried out as quickly as possible. As the dry season sets in, South Sumatra BPBD continues to increase preparedness and surveillance to reduce the risk of forest and land fires in various regions of the province.