Wind poses challenge in handling Pulang Pisau forest and land fires: BPBD
The Pulang Pisau Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) in Central Kalimantan has revealed that wind movement and limited water sources are posing challenges in handling forest and land fires (karhutla) in Tumbang Nusa village.
“Developments on the ground show that several hotspots are still growing due to wind movement, which is triggering the emergence of new hotspots,” said Herman Wibowo, Chief Executive of BPBD Pulang Pisau, in Pulang Pisau on Wednesday.
According to him, all task force personnel in the field are continuing efforts to control, extinguish and dampen down a number of fire points. In addition to hot weather, strong winds and limited water, the fire is also continuing to move closer to the road surface.
He said the karhutla handling is also receiving support from the Central Kalimantan Provincial Government through the Provincial BPBD, the Provincial Forestry Service, as well as assistance from water tanker trucks and fire engines.
“This cooperation is what has been helping to hold back the movement of the fire at the roadside so that we can prevent the fire from jumping to the other side of the road,” he said.
Regarding the area of land burned, Herman said the figure remains dynamic. Based on field data from around three days ago, the affected area is estimated to have reached approximately 122 hectares, but it could still change as the fire moves and monitoring results come in.
“Currently the fire is starting to move towards Taruna village, so BPBD is optimising the construction of canal blocks,” he continued.
Herman expressed hope that weather modification operations can be carried out soon. He noted that implementation still depends on weather conditions because to date there has not been a sufficient cloud gathering point over the karhutla area.
“If it is forced when there is no cloud gathering over this area, the rain could actually fall in other areas,” he explained.
His office continues to coordinate with the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) to monitor cloud gathering points. Herman said that if conditions allow, weather modification operations will be carried out immediately.