Karhutla Appears In South Sumatra And Central Kalimantan, BNPB: Fire Successfully Extinguished

BPBD personnel extinguished the fire of forest and land fires in Parit and Palem Raya Villages, Ogan Ilir Regency, South Sumatra, Wednesday (14/5/2025) ANTARA/HO-BPBD Ogan Ilir

JAKARTA - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) stated that the fires of forest and land fires (karhutla) that hit the South Sumatra (Sulsel) and Central Kalimantan (Kalteng) areas were successfully extinguished by joint officers in the field.

Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center Abdul Muhari said forest and land fires in South Sumatra occurred on Wednesday, May 14 at around 16.08 WIB, hitting two villages in Ogan Ilir Regency.

"The hotspots were identified in Parit Village and Palem Raya Village with a burned area of 2.25 hectares," he said in a statement, Friday, May 16, which was confiscated by Antara.

However, Abdul added that based on the latest report from BPBD Ogan Ilir they had succeeded in extinguishing all the hotspots that burned the mineral land.

BNPB confirmed that the blackout was also carried out against forest and land fires that occurred in the West Kotawaringin Regency and Gunung Mas Regency, Central Kalimantan Province.

"In Central Kalimantan, the area of land burned in each district reaches 0.5 hectares. The entire fire has been extinguished and the conditions are currently under control," he said.

Abdul emphasized that there were no reports of casualties in the incident. He also reminded the importance of vigilance in dealing with the dry season which has the potential to increase the risk of forest and land fires in various regions.

The BNPB Control and Operations Center (Pusdalops) noted that 38 forest and land fires occurred throughout Central Kalimantan in mid-January to mid-May 2025, with a distribution of 180 hotspots and a total area of affected land reaching 25.46 hectares.

Sukamara Regency is listed as the area with the largest burned land area, which is 6.90 hectares, followed by North Barito Regency with 4.01 hectares.

The cause of the incident is still under investigation by law enforcement officers in each region.

Responding to the recurring trend of forest and land fires, BNPB reminded local governments to alert outage equipment, operational vehicles, personnel, and reserve budgets to support disaster prevention and control efforts.

Preparedness steps must continue to be strengthened, especially in six priority provinces prone to forest and land fires, namely Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, South Sumatra, Jambi, and Riau.