South Kalimantan Provincial Government Sets Fire And Forest Haze Alert Status

Smoke rises from burning land in Ujung Batu Village, Tanah Laut Regency, South Kalimantan, Sunday (1/8/2021). BETWEEN PHOTOS/Bayu Pratama S/rwa

BANJARMASIN - The Provincial Government of South Kalimantan has set the alert status of haze due to forest and land fires (karhutla) which is planned to last for the next five months.

"We have just set the alert status for the smoke disaster due to forest and land fires starting from June 15 to November 15, 2022," said Head of the Prevention and Preparedness Division of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of South Kalimantan, Sahrudin, as quoted by Antara, Wednesday, June 15.

On June 28, he said, the plan was for the Governor of South Kalimantan, Sahbirin Noor, to lead the joint personnel for a standby rally.

"We also involve 1,100 volunteers from several community organizations," he said.

According to him, of the 13 regencies/cities in South Kalimantan, there are currently Tapin District, Barito Kuala District and Banjarbaru City which have swiftly declared the status of the smoke haze due to forest and land fires. "The others haven't, they are still in process," he said.

Based on the BMKG report, he said, some areas in South Kalimantan have entered the dry season from May to June.

According to South Kalimantan BPBD data, in 2021 there will be 2,813.45 hectares of burned areas, including forests and land in several areas in South Kalimantan.

Since the beginning of January 2022 until now, there have been forest fires in six points covering an area of 15 hectares while land fires in 15 points covering an area of 27 hectares.