Land Fire in Three Provinces, BNPB: Zero Human Casualties

JAKARTA - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has confirmed that there were no casualties due to a series of forest and land fires (karhutla) that hit a number of areas in Aceh, West Java, and Central Java.

Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, Abdul Muhari in Jakarta, said that based on reports from the field, all affected areas were confirmed to be safe from fatal casualties.

"In line with the handling efforts carried out by the joint team in the area, it is reported that there were no casualties arising from the series of fire incidents," said Abdul in his statement, Tuesday, June 30.

Abdul detailed that the report of the series of disasters began with a forest fire that burned an area of four hectares in Gentan Village, Bulu District, Sukoharjo Regency, Central Java, on Saturday, June 26 evening.

In this case, the fire was completely extinguished on Sunday, June 28 by a joint team of BPBD, TNI, Polri, and volunteers, with no casualties at the scene.

A similar land fire incident was also reported to have hit the mainland area in Birem Puntong Village, Langsa Baro District, Langsa City, Aceh, on Sunday, June 28.

BNPB confirmed that the fire of two hectares in Aceh, which was triggered by the burning of waste, only recorded one head of household (KK) who was materially affected without any casualties.

For this reason, Abdul said that the Langsa City BPBD, which deployed two fire brigade units and one water tanker unit, managed to fully tame the flames on the same day.

Meanwhile, the third area that reported the forest fire incident was in Tomo Village, Tomo District, Sumedang Regency, West Java, with an area of burned land reaching two hectares.

"The fire was successfully handled through coordination with the local BPBD with a joint team deploying a water tank fleet, while the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation," he said.