Rainfall Helps Firefighters Clear the Air in Haze-Choked Riau

Budi Otmansyah Jakarta Globe 24 Oct 10;

Pekanbaru, Riau. Lambasted from all sides last week for inaction in tackling blazes that caused choking haze to spread to Singapore and Malaysia, Indonesian officials had their blushes spared over the weekend after Mother Nature came to the rescue.

Three days of heavy rain starting on Friday coincided with the government’s dispatch of firefighters to Riau to battle forest and ground fires causing the haze, reducing most of the blazes to a fizzle.

“Eighty percent of the fires have been put out, thanks to the rain and the hard work of our team on the ground,” said Isbanu, head of the Forest Fire Mitigation Division at the provincial Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA).

The Pekanbaru office of the National Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the dry weather pattern caused by Super Typhoon Megi had ended.

“The situation has returned to normal. Riau and Sumatra are now entering the rainy season,” said Marzuki, head of the local BMKG weather analysis department.

“There is no more haze from the fires. The air in Singapore is also fine now because it is also raining there.”

Sultan Syarif Kasim II airport in Pekanbaru has returned to normal operations. “The conditions at the airport are normal. There is slight rain and visibility is 6,000 meters,” said Ibnu Hasan, the airport’s deputy chief.

The conditions were a marked improvement from Saturday, when four flights were delayed.

“Visibility on Saturday was only 300 meters. It was up to 500 meters at 7 p.m., and at about 3,000 meters at 9 p.m.,” Ibnu said.

Officials from Malaysia and Singapore — two countries affected by smoke drifting across from Sumatra — last week called on Jakarta to deal with the sources of the smoke and offered assistance.

But Indonesia declined help, saying it could take care of the problem on its own.

Isbanu added that firefighters were still searching for remaining hot spots in peatland areas.