Joint Team Successfully Extinguishes 3 Forest Fires in Penajam and Babulu, East Kalimantan

Bhabinsa pulled a water hose to extinguish the forest and land fires in Petung, North Penajam Paser Regency, East Kalimantan, Monday (28/8/2023) night. (ANTARA/HO-DPKP PPU Regency)

PENAJAM - A joint team from various elements in North Penajam Paser Regency (PPU), East Kalimantan, succeeded in extinguishing forest and land fires (karhutla) at three points, namely two in Penajam District and one point in Babulu District.

"The three karhutla points occurred last night (28/8) and yesterday afternoon, now it's safe because the joint team is directly handling it," said the Head of Mitigation and Rescue of the Dahlan Regency Fire Management and Rescue Service (DPKP) in Penajam, reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, August 29.

Two karhutla points on Monday (28/8) night in Petung Village, Penajam District with a burnt area in the form of shrubs, while the total burned land area of ​​1.2 hectares is located around 75 meters from residential areas.

The incident that occurred in RT 10 was reported by Bahtiar, a local resident, with the incident at 19.00 p.m. Central Indonesian Time (WITA). The fire team arrived at the location at 19.05 WITA. Officers managed to extinguish the fire at 19.50 p.m. WITA.

"After receiving reports from residents, the picket officers immediately put out the blackout, followed by cooling using a unit of the Petung Fire Department, then this morning (29/8) another check was carried out and it can be confirmed that there were no embers," he said.

Meanwhile, the forest and land fires in Babulu District occurred at RT 08, Sri Raharja Village, Monday (28/8), around 15.00 p.m. WITA, on land owned by Abu, a local resident. The material that burned was rice fields covering an area of ​​0.75 ha.

"Personnel in the field who helped put out the fire apart from DPKP officers, included Village Superintendent (babinsa), Advisor for Public Security and Order (bhabinkamtibmas), Sri Raharja Village officials, land owners and residents, while the cause of the fire was still being investigated by the police," he said.