2 Hektare Karhutla in Apung Village, Ditsamapta Polda Kaltara Reduce 35 Personnel

FOTO IST

TANJUNG SELOR - The North Kalimantan Regional Police (Kaltara) Directorate of Samapta deployed 35 personnel to handle forest and land fires (karhutla) covering an area of about 2 hectares in Apung Village, Tanjung Selor District, Bulungan Regency on Thursday, August 13.

Director of Samapta Polda Kaltara Kombes Andreas Deddy Wijaya said personnel were deployed after receiving reports from the public about the emergence of a fire point in the area.

"The handling personnel team, led by IPDA Wisnu Krida Bayu Pamungkas, immediately moved to the location after receiving a report to carry out a fire and prevent the fire from spreading," said Kombes Andreas, Friday, August 14.

Kombes Andreas said in handling it, Ditsamapta deployed one unit of the karhutla vehicle, one unit of the Armoured Water Cannon (AWC) and one unit of the Isuzu D-Max.

"Personnel are also equipped with firefighting equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE)," he said.

Upon arrival at the location, officers checked the condition of the land, mapped the fire points and the direction of the fire spread. The search was carried out to find the fire points and embers that were still potentially on fire.

"After the fire was successfully controlled, the search was still carried out to ensure that there were no embers left," said Andreas.

He revealed that to support water needs during the blackout, personnel connected a suction hose and strainer to PT PKN's water truck.

"The extinguishing process faces a number of obstacles because the location is peat land. The fire can survive below the surface of the ground and reappear even though the fire on the surface has been extinguished," he said.

In addition to land conditions, the area burned, limited water sources and difficult terrain to reach are also challenges for field officers.

"After the fire point was successfully extinguished, personnel continued the cooling down process and re-sweeping in all affected areas. This step is taken to ensure that there are no embers or fire points that can trigger a re-fire," he said.

Kombes Andreas urged the public to increase vigilance against the potential for forest fires and immediately report if they find a fire point.

"Early response is considered important to prevent the fire from spreading and causing greater impacts," he said.