Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post 22 Aug 15;
Fires that have burned hundreds of hectares of peatland in East Tanjung jabung regency, Jambi, are now approaching residential areas.
East Tanjung jabung Forestry and Plantation Office head Adil Aritonang said the fires had engulfed 200 hectares in Rawasari village, Berbak district, in Simpang Kiri village, Mendahara Ulu district 140 hectares had been burned, as well as 40 hectares in Catur Rahayu village in Dendang district.
“The fires are not too intense, but peatland fires have rekindled and are likely to spark fires,” said Adil on Friday.
He said his office was coordinating with relevant agencies, including the military, police and private sector bodies, to douse the fires.
“We also urge residents not to clear land by using slash-and-burn methods,” said Adil.
Mendahara Ulu district chief Hendri said the fire in Simpang Kiri subdistrict had almost reached a settlement.
He added that his office, assisted by Manggala Agni firefighters, the district fire department and the East Tanjung jabung Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), had been trying to extinguish the fire in Pematang Rahim village for the past week.
“We are focusing on extinguishing the fire before it reaches human settlements,” he said.
The lack of rain had caused the fire to quickly spread to other areas. Adil said, and his office was flat out trying to extinguish the flaring fires.
Bukit Tempurung Manggala Agni forest fire-fighter team leader Del Rico said fires could not be fully brought under control because of a water shortage at the fire location. On Friday, six fires were recorded in Pematang Rahim village.
Thirteen Manggala Agni personnel, alongside the district fire department, local BPBD and the private sector are working together to extinguish the fire in the village.
“The Jambi provincial administration has yet to provide assistance,” said Adil.
Mendahara Ulu Police chief First Insp. Arief Nazaruddin said police had also deployed personnel to help douse the fire, adding that the police had yet to ascertain the cause of the fire.
“We have yet to determine where the fire came from. We are currently focusing on fire-fighting because the fire is now approaching human settlements,” said Arief.
Separately, the Jambi Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) announced that 299 hotspots were detected on Friday.
“Satellite images showed 299 hotspots have been detected in Jambi,” said Jambi BMKG Data and Information section head Kurnia Ningsih.
The highest number of hotspots have been detected in Muaro Jambi regency with 132 hotspots, followed by East Tanjung jabung (78), West Tanjung jabung (34), Batanghar (14), Sarolangun (12), Tebo (11), Merangin (nine), Bungo (seven) and Kerinci and Jambi city with one each.
“The number of hotspots today has risen significantly compared with the total 107 two days earlier,” said Kurnia.
Jambi Deputy Mayor Abdullah Sani said the Air Pollution Standard Index in Jambi city had reached 40 percent.
Despite still being categorized as safe, his office was concerned about the number of patients suffering from acute respiratory tract infections (ISPA) and other illnesses.
“We advise residents to wear masks when carrying out outdoor activities,” said Sani.
Haze reaches Batam, but flights unaffected
thejakartapost.com 21 Aug 15;
Haze has reached Batam, in Riau Islands province, as forest fires in Jambi and South Sumatra spread and the number of hot spots in those provinces increases, according to meteorological data, but the haze is yet to have an impact on flights.
Agus Tri from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) at Hang Nadin Airport in Batam said on Friday that the wind had blown from mainland Sumatra toward Batam, taking with it smoke from the forest fires.
“Visibility is still 8,000 to 10,000 meters. It is still safe for transportation,” Agus said as quoted by Antara.
He warned, however, that it could be worse because the number of hot spots in Jambi jumped drastically to 4,000 on Friday from just 1,000 the day before. Of particular concern he said, would be the wind continuing blow in the direction of Batam.
“If the visibility decrease drastically, we will inform the public,” said Agus, but added that there was not yet any indication that would happen.
Annual cross-border air pollution caused by uncontrolled land clearing on Indonesian plantations has been a source of discontent among Indonesia’s neighbors since the 1990s. In 2013, smoky haze from forest fires in Indonesia spread to Singapore and Malaysia, causing Singapore’s worst air pollution in 16 years. (bnn)(++++)
- See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/21/haze-reaches-batam-flights-unaffected.html#sthash.5A5yL3mK.dpuf
Mt. Merbabu closed due to fire
thejakartapost.com 21 Aug 15;
All hiking trails to the peak of Mount Merbabu in Central Java have been closed because of savanna fires that started burning on Wednesday.
According to head of data, information and public relations at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in Purwo Nugroho, there were initially 11 separate fires on Mt. Merbabu on Wednesday afternoon, spread across a 25 hectare area. At dawn on Friday, the fires had reportedly spread further.
Mount Merbabu National Park Conservation Center officer Wawan said on Friday morning that park management was coordinating to battle fires at four of the hot spots.
"We decided that all hiking trails to the peak are to be closed as of Thursday evening," said Wawan as quoted by tribunnews.com.
On Thursday evening, 25 climbers that had already been on the mountain for three days were forced to come down.
Rino Mahardika, an officer at the search and rescue (SAR) team post, said that the fires can only be extinguished during the day due to their locations on the side of cliffs.
"It will be dangerous if we extinguish the fires after dark," said Rino on Thursday night.
He added that the most likely cause of the fires was unattended campfires lit by climbers.
"August is the season for climbing. A couple of days ago, after Independence Day on Aug. 17, Mt. Ungaran [also in Central Java] also caught fire," said Rino. (kes)(++++)
Mount Merbabu closed due to fire
The Jakarta Post 22 Aug 15;
BOYOLALI: All hiking trails to the peak of Mount Merbabu in Central Java have been closed because of savanna fires that started burning on Wednesday.
According to the head of data, information and public relations at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in Purwo Nugroho, there were initially 11 separate fires on Mt. Merbabu on Wednesday afternoon, spread across a 25-hectare area. At dawn on Friday, the fires had reportedly spread farther.
Mount Merbabu National Park Conservation Center officer Kurniawan Fajar Prasetyo said on Friday morning that park management was preparing to battle fires at four of the hot spots.
“We decided that all hiking trails to the peak are to be closed as of Thursday evening,” said Kurniawan.
On Thursday evening, 25 climbers that had already been on the mountain for three days were forced to come down.
Rino Mahardika, an officer at the search and rescue (SAR) team post, said that the fires could only be extinguished during the day because of their locations on the sides of cliffs.
Read more!
Posts
visitors since Nov 07