Kemenhut Intensifies Karhutla Extinguishing in West Kalimantan

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) said that efforts to extinguish forest and land fires (karhutla) in several areas of West Kalimantan, including intensive fire suppression efforts in Kubu Raya Regency.

Head of Section II Pontianak Forest Fire Control Office (Dalkarhut) Kalimantan Region, Ministry of Home Affairs Sahat Irawan Manik explained that currently the territory of West Kalimantan, especially Kubu Raya Regency, is a prone area for karhutla as the number of hotspots increases and the potential for drought in the dry season.

"Efforts to extinguish fires are carried out from morning to night. This is done to speed up the extinguishing, especially the location of the forest fire which is close to the settlement," said Sahat as reported by ANTARA, Saturday, March 7.

He said that the forest fire in Kubu Raya Regency occurred from February 28, 2026 to Friday (6/3) and even while fasting, members of Manggala Agni Daops Manggala Agni Kalimantan VIII/Pontianak intensively put out the forest fire in five points spread across three areas, namely Rasau Jaya Tiga Village, Rasau Jaya Umum Village and Limbung Village.

Two locations of forest fires in Rasau Jaya Tiga Village and Rasau Jaya Umum Village, Rasau Jaya District have entered the cooling and mopping up stages, which are carried out to ensure that there are no embers left. This mopping up stage also indicates that the entire forest fire situation has been under control and will be declared extinguished in the near future.

Sahat stated that in anticipation of an increase in the vulnerability of forest fires, the Manggala Agni team intensively carried out forest fire prevention patrols in the West Kalimantan region.

"This patrol aims to detect field conditions early, strengthen coordination, and accelerate the flow of information from the community so that responses to karhutla incidents can be carried out faster. In addition, patrols are also carried out to check the condition of fuel, potential water sources, and karhutla issues in the community," he explained.

Based on daily monitoring of the 2026 hotspots, in Kubu Raya Regency, there was an increase in the number and distribution of hotspots, in addition, the results of the BMKG Fire Hazard Rating System (SPBK) also showed an increase in the level of fire vulnerability.