Indonesia: Five provinces declare emergency status for land and forest fires

Antara 30 Jul 19;

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture announced that five provinces in the country have declared an emergency status over land and forest fires in response to the threat of drought with moderate to high risks in 2019

The five provinces are Riau, West Kalimantan, South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.

Riau has declared an emergency status for land and forest fires from February 19 to October 31, West Kalimantan from February 12 to December 31, South Sumatra from March 8 to October 31, Central Kalimantan from May 28 to August 26 and South Kalimantan from June 1 to October 31, the ministry's deputy for social vulnerability and disaster impact, Dody Usodo, said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

In addition, Dumai municipality in Riau province, Sambas district in West Kalimantan and Ogan Komiring Ilir district in South Sumatra have also declared an emergency status for land and forest fires.

The emergency status for land and forest fires in Dumai lasted from February 13 to May 31, while the emergency status for land and forest fires in Sambas and Ogan Komiring Ilir will last from February 1 to December 31.

To support the emergency status, the provinces have revived land and forest fire control task forces with 1,502 personnel.

"The task force personnel have been deployed to several provinces including Riau, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan," he said.

He said it was important to stay alert to land and forest fires. The National Disaster Mitigation Board (BNPB) has deployed task forces to anticipate damage from land and forest fires, and educate local residents who will most likely be affected.

The ministry recorded 28 out of 34 provinces in Indonesia are under a threat of drought with moderate to high risks this year.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has predicted the dry season will last from July to October this year. The dry season this year, which will peak in August will be drier than in the previous years.
Related news: 11 provinces should declare alert status for forest fire: Ministry

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Some 5,929 deployed personnel douse forest fires in five provinces
Antara 30 Jul 19;

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Some 5,929 personnel, comprising military, police, and civilian officers, were deployed to extinguish forest fires in the five provinces of Riau, South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan.

The personnel were part of the Land Task Force for forest fire emergency and supported by the Air Task Force as well as firefighters from private companies, such APP Sinar Mas, which has deployed 3,180 men.

The Air Task Force has deployed helicopters to help extinguish forest, peatland, and bush fires. A total of 17 helicopters from the Military, private companies, Environmental Affairs Ministry, and the Natural Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) have been readied in Riau, three in South Sumatra, six in West Kalimantan, and seven in Central Kalimantan.

Some 61.06 million liters of water was used to put out the wildfires. The authorities have also applied weather modification technology to induce artificial rain in regions where hotspots were detected.

A total of 27,683.47 hectares of forest, peatland, and bush areas in Riau Province were gutted by fires as of July 29, 2019, as compared to 2,273.97 hectares in West Kalimantan, 236.49 hectares in South Sumatra, 52.53 hectares in South Kalimantan, 27 hectares in Central Kalimantan, and 4.18 hectares in Jambi.

On July 29, at least 27 hotspots were detected in Riau, 26 in Jambi, 14 in Central Kalimantan, 12 in West Kalimantan, and five in South Sumatra.

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Smog lowers visibility in Pekanbaru
Antara 30 Jul 19;

Pekanbaru (ANTARA) - Haze from forest and land fires blanketing Pekanbaru City, Riau Province, since Tuesday morning, has reduced visibility, an official of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) of Pekanbaru Station stated.

Data indicated that hotspots were mostly found in Pelalawan that lies in proximity to Pekanbaru. The wind is blowing from the southeast direction, at a speed of 10-30 kilometers per hour, toward Pekanbaru," an analyst of BMKG Station in Pekanbaru, Yasir told Antara, here, Tuesday, adding that the smog arose from land fires in Pelalawan District.

He said visibility decreased due to the smoke, but there were no reports of any disruption to flight activities at the Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport.

"Between 7 and 9 a.m. local time, visibility had reached four to five kilometers," he noted.

Related news: 53 hotspots detected in Riau Province

Based on the Pekanbaru BMKG data, the Terra Aqua satellite image at 6 a.m. local time showed that 138 hotspots were monitored in Sumatra indicating forest and land fires. Riau Province had the highest number of hotspots, reaching 60; followed by 30 in Jambi; and 16 in Bangka Belitung.

Pelalawan District in Riau recorded the highest number of hotspots, reaching 30; followed by 15 in Indragiri Hilir; eight in Rokan Hilir; two each in Bengkalis and Indra Hulu; and one each in Kampar, Kuansing, and Siak.

Of the figure, 33 were identified as firespots. The highest number of hotspots were found in Pelalawan, reaching 19; followed by five each in Rokan Hilir and Indragiri Hilir; two in Bengkalis; and one each in Kampar and Indragiri Hulu.

This is the third time in the past week that smog has engulfed Pekanbaru. Earlier, only thin smoke covered Pekanbaru in the morning and gradually disappeared during the daytime.

However, until around 10:40 a.m. local time on Tuesday, thick smog still covered Pekanbaru. Related news: Land fires in East Kotawaringin partially intentional: district head

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Pekanbaru engulfed in smog as more than 135 hot spots detected in Sumatra
Channel NewsAsia 30 Jul 19;

PEKANBARU, Riau: More than 135 hot spots were detected in Sumatra on Tuesday (Jul 30) due to peat fire, as Pekanbaru, the provincial capital of Riau was enveloped in a thick veil of haze.

Data from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency indicated that forest and land fire contributed to a total of 138 hot spots in Sumatra as of 6am on Tuesday, and close to half were found in the Riau province, state news agency Antara reported.

Within Riau, 30 hot spots were detected in the Pelalawan district, which is located to the east of Pekanbaru.

“The wind is blowing from the southeast direction, at a speed of 10 to 30 km/h, towards Pekanbaru,” Mr Yasir, an analyst with the meteorological agency’s Pekanbaru station, told Antara.

Smog from peat fire has been affecting Pekabaru since last week.

On Tuesday morning, visibility in the capital was reduced to only four to five kilometres between 7am and 9am, Mr Yasir said.

Nonetheless, flight activities at the Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru were not disrupted, he added.

Meanwhile, news portal Riau24.com said there were no cases of schools sending students home early in Pekanbaru due to poor air quality.

“We encourage (schools) to reduce outdoor activities and (teachers and students) to wear masks,” Mr Abdul Jamal, head of the Pekanbaru Education Office, was quoted as saying.

As a precautionary measure, the Riau Health Office distributed 10,000 free masks to residents in Pekanbaru, according to a report by Kompas.

"The air has improved in the afternoon, but since the air condition changes, we are giving out masks in case smog returns to Pekanbaru again," the office's secretary Mr Yohanes was quoted as saying.

Source: Agencies/tx(aw)

Authorities warned of fires as hot spots detected in Jambi
Jon Afrizal The Jakarta Post 30 Jul 19;

An environmental NGO is warning authorities of a potential increase of forest fires in Jambi during the dry season, as satellites detected dozens of hot spots — identified as land fires — spreading across the province over the past week.

Citing data compiled by the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) from NASA’s MODIS satellites, the Warsi Indonesian Conservation Community (KKI Warsi) said that at least 38 hot spots have been detected in Jambi between July 23 and 30.

Most of the hot spots were found in the concession areas belonging to companies granted industrial forest permits (HTI) and oil palm plantations granted right-to-cultivate permits (HGU), while 15 hot spots were found on peat land in Muarojambi regency.

“Putting out fires on peat land takes a longer time. Given the dry condition of the land, we are worried that the fires can spread to other areas if they aren't handled correctly," KKI Warsi director Rudi Syaf said on Tuesday.

The dry season is expected to peak soon between August and September, Rudi said, adding that more hot spots in the area might also occur because of a weak El Niño as shown by the 1 degree Celsius increase of the temperature of the surface of the Pacific Ocean at the equator.

"Land and forest fires can be triggered by natural phenomenon, as well as by human activities," he said.

The Jambi administration had implemented a 2016 bylaw on forest fire prevention and control, Rudi said, and therefore local authorities should be able to prevent the fires from spreading as quickly as possible before the peak of the dry season.

According to the Jambi Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency’s data, the hot spots had spread in seven of the province's 11 regencies and cities, including in Batanghari, Bungo, Kerinci and Merangin, as well as on peat lands in Muarojambi, Sarolangun and West Tanjungjabung.

The Jambi Forest Agency had recorded a decline in the extent of forest fires in the province, from a massive forest fire that burned 19,528 hectares of land and forest in 2015 to 257.39 ha in 2016.

However, the agency’s data showed that land and forest fires increased again in the following years, raging across 579 ha in 2017 and 970.16 in 2018.

"We need to work together with other stakeholders to prevent forest fires from spreading this year," Jambi Forest Agency head Ahmad Bastari said. (ars/afr)

53 hotspots detected in Riau Province
Antara 27 Jul 19;

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - The Terra and Aqua satellites have detected 53 hotspots indicating forest fires in Riau Province Saturday afternoon, a surge from 35 hotspots in the morning on the same day. "The number has increased from 35 in the morning," Bibin, analyst of the Pekanbaru meteorology station, said here Saturday.

Of the 53, 27 were found in Pelalawan, seven in Bengkalis, six in Siak, five in Inhil, two in Inhu, and respectively one on Meranti Island, in Rohil, Kampar, Kuansing and Rohul.

Twenty-five hotspots comprising 20 in Pelalawan, two in Bengkalis and one each in Kuansing, Rohul and Inhu, were most likely the result of forest fires, Bibin said.

The Riau Provincial Administration has declared an emergency status of forest fires from February 19, 2019 to October 31, 2019.

The current extreme dry spell has triggered forest and bush fires in Riau, whose peatland is prone to wildlife.

Joint teams comprising local fire brigade officers, rangers, military and police officers, have been working hard to extinguish forest fires in Riau by land and air.

Wildfires have devastated a total of 27,683.47ha in Riau per July 2019, according to data from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB). In Indonesia, a total of 42,740.42ha areas were destroyed by forest, bush and peatland fires.

Riau has a total of 2,960 hotspots so far this year, or the largest number compared to other provinces.

In the meantime, the office of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs has appealed to 11 provincial administrations prone to land and forest fires to impose an emergency alert status in their respective regions.

"Regions must soon declare an emergency alert status, because of the total 16 provinces (prone to forest fires), only five have imposed the status," the ministry's Deputy for Public Order and Security Coordination Insp. Gen Carlo B. Tewu remarked during a coordination meeting to evaluate and take precautionary measures against land and forest fires held in Jakarta July 18, 2019.

The meeting was attended by representatives from 16 provinces prone to land and forest fires, officials of the Environment and Forestry Ministry, Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), and Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG).

President Joko Widodo had instructed regions to prevent land and forest fires at the earliest, Tewu noted.

So far, only the five provinces of Riau, West Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan have declared an emergency alert status. Riau has experience in tackling forest fires, he stated.

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