Fires raze tens of hectares of forest, peat land in Jambi

Antara 22 Feb 08;

Jambi (ANTARA News) - Fires ravaged tens of hectares of forest and peat land in West Tanjung Jabung district, Jambi province, in the past two days.

The blazes was put out by firefighters on Thursday, West Tanjung Jabung district head Abdulllah Hich said.

The fires were strongly believed to have been caused by the uncontrolled application of the slash-and-burn method in clearing land for farming.

He warned local people and plantation companies against practicing slash-and-burn farming to avoid further forest and peat land fires.

The heat of the dry season accompanied by strong winds had made it easy for fires to break out and spread over wide areas, Hich said. (*)