15 People Become Suspects Of Forest And Land Fires In Riau

Police officers were in the vicinity of the burning land in Pelintung Village, Medang Kampa District, Dumai, Riau, Tuesday (2/5/2023). (ANTARA/Aswaddy Hamid)

PeKANBARU - The police have uncovered 14 cases of forest and land fires (karhutla) in Riau with 15 suspects, which are still ongoing. The number of burned areas is 830.5 hectares.

"Six cases were handled by the Rokan Hilir Resort Police, five cases by the Dumai Police, two Inhil Police, and one Kuansing Police," said Head of Public Relations of the Riau Police, Kombes Nandang Mu'min Wijaya in Pekanbaru, quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, June 20.

The Riau Province Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) reported that the widest forest and land fires coverage was in Bengkalis Regency, which was 181.48 ha.

Meanwhile, the area of forest and land fires in other areas, such as Dumai with an area of 99.22 ha, Rokan Hilir 73.5 ha, Indragiri Hilir 43.5 ha, Pelalawan 31.18 ha, Siak 18.51 ha, Pekanbaru 11.18 ha, Kampar 11.03 ha, Meranti 9.75 ha, and Indragiri Hulu 2.15 ha.

To date, three cases have been in phase II, three cases in stage I, seven cases in the investigation process and one case in the investigation process. "However, until now there has been no suspicion of corporate involvement. All actors from individuals," added the Head of Public Relations.

Karhutla has also hit Pekanbaru City in recent times. Head of the Pekanbaru Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Kompol Andrie Setiawan, said that the forest and land fires in Air Hitam Village, Payung Sekaki District had been successfully extinguished.

"The fire has been extinguished and the officers are also cooling down because there is still a puff of smoke. Today there is no hotspot," he said.

Karhutla terjadi diduga lantaran cuaca panas yang melanda Kota Pekanbaru beberapa hari terakhir. Adapun jenis lahan yang terbakar sendiri merupakan tanah gambut dan bushet.

Andrie said that in an effort to extinguish the fire, his party faced several obstacles in the field, such as the location of the hotspots could not be reached by vehicle, so officers were forced to walk about 1 kilometer to the scene.

"In addition, the water source is also limited. Currently, the fire has been extinguished, but personnel will remain on standby," he said.