Almost 1,000 hectares of land burned in South Kalimantan, 12,000 liters of water were diverted

JAKARTA - Forest and land fires (karhutla) in South Kalimantan (Kalsel) have impacted nearly 1,000 hectares of land.

Anticipating this condition, the Ministry of Public Works (PU) has alerted support for facilities and infrastructure, including 12,000 liters of water to help accelerate the handling of karhutla in the field.

Based on data from the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of South Kalimantan Province as of July 29, 2026, there were 2,141 hotspots and 381 forest fires with an affected land area of 994.30 hectares.

The Banjarbaru City area, Banjar Regency to the border area with Banjarmasin City is an area with a high level of vulnerability. This condition is influenced by the dominance of peatland, scrubland and open land which are increasingly vulnerable to burning during the dry season.

Minister PU Dody Hanggodo said that his party continued to improve its readiness to face the potential of forest fires and drought in the 2026 dry season through strengthening cross-sectoral coordination and providing supporting infrastructure.

"The PU Ministry not only focuses on infrastructure development, but also ensures that the infrastructure can be optimally utilized to support disaster management, maintain water availability, protect the environment and ensure public safety," said Dody in a written statement, Friday, July 31.

As direct support for the operation to handle the forest fire, the South Kalimantan Building, Infrastructure, and Area Arrangement Office (BPBPK) deployed three water tanker trucks.

Each truck has a capacity of 4,000 liters, so the total water prepared reaches 12,000 liters. The fleet is stationed at three main posts, namely the South Kalimantan Provincial BPBD, the Banjarbaru City BPBD and the Banjar Regency BPBD.

The head of BPBPK South Kalimantan Denny Surya Martha said that the provision of water was intended to support emergency extinguishing operations and ensure that responses to karhutla could be carried out quickly.

"The total water capacity we have prepared reaches 12,000 liters to support emergency handling operations. We continue to coordinate with the South Kalimantan Provincial BPBD so that the distribution of assistance and support in the field can run quickly, accurately, and effectively," said Denny.

In addition to preparing a fleet of water tanks, the Ministry of PU has taken a number of anticipatory steps to face the forest fires and drought. These efforts include strengthening the El Nino Task Force, optimizing irrigation networks, drilling groundwater, and distributing clean water in a number of affected areas.

According to Denny, the success of forest and peatland fires management depends heavily on inter-agency synergy and speed of response in the field.

Therefore, BPBPK South Kalimantan will continue to provide support for facilities according to needs and the development of the situation.

According to the Ministry of PU, strengthening supporting infrastructure is an important part of facing the threat of hydrometeorological disasters during the dry season.

The infrastructure is not only directed to support extinguishing, but also to maintain the availability of water resources and food security.

The PU Ministry also continues to encourage collaboration between the central government, local governments, the TNI, the National Police and other stakeholders so that the handling of the forest fire in South Kalimantan can be carried out in a coordinated and sustainable manner.