Indonesia Keeps 53 Aircraft On Standby As Fire Risks Persist

By Nik Nurfaqih Nik Wil

JAKARTA, Sept 14 (Bernama) -- Indonesia is keeping 53 aircraft on standby to combat forest and land fires despite recording a significant decline in hotspots in Central and West Kalimantan, with nearly 600 hotspots still detected nationwide as fire risks persist.

Forestry Ministry Public Relations and Foreign Cooperation Bureau chief Dr Ristianto Pribadi said the decline in hotspots was a relatively positive development but cautioned that the fire threat remained.

“The decline in hotspots does not mean that all fires have been extinguished. The situation can change rapidly, especially when the weather is dry, winds are strong and combustible material remains on the surface,” he said in the ministry’s latest social media post on Monday.

According to the ministry’s social media post, monitoring as of Sunday night detected 592 high-confidence hotspots nationwide, including 197 across the six priority provinces.

Central Kalimantan recorded 89 hotspots, followed by South Sumatra with 49, South Kalimantan 28, Jambi 17 and West Kalimantan 14, while none were detected in Riau.

On the ground and in the air, firefighting operations are continuing, with 53 aircraft on standby, including 34 for water bombing and 19 for aerial patrols and weather modification operations, Ristianto said.

The aerial response is also being reinforced by three CH-47 Chinook helicopters from Japan to support large-capacity water-bombing operations in areas requiring additional firefighting assistance, he said.

He said weather modification operations also continue in West and Central Kalimantan, contributing an estimated 87.9 million cubic metres of rainwater in West Kalimantan and 22.9 million cubic metres in Central Kalimantan as of Sept 11.

-- BERNAMA