Karhutla in South Sumatra OKI Pedamaran Successfully Defused with Water Bombs

Photos of the fire burning land on the side of the toll gate Rambutan Toll Road Trans Sumatra (JTTS) Palembang-Indralaya/DOK ANTARA section

JAKARTA - Head of the Center for Disaster Data, Information, and Communication at the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Abdul Muhari reported that the attack of water bombs had  tamed forest and land fires (karhutla) in Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra.

The fire occurred in the Pedamaran, Pampangan, and Pangkalan Lampam subdistricts, Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) Regency, South Sumatra, on Sunday, September 17.

Access was hampered by the ground task force (Task Force), but the fire was successfully controlled thanks to the support of the air task force with the support of BNPB water bombing helicopters.

"Attack after attack of 'water bombs' is slowly producing results. The fire is starting to be put out and of course, this is easing the performance of the joint ground task force team which is hampered by accessibility," said Abdul in a statement broadcast in Jakarta, Antara, Monday, September 18.

Aerial monitoring carried out by the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of South Sumatra Province showed that the fire was not only burning forests and shrubs, but also production plantation areas.

White smoke was seen soaring into the sky, blown by the wind, towards Palembang City.

Meanwhile, in another location, hotspots were also observed spreading along the side of the 347 kilometer Palembang Kayu Agung toll road.

Luckily, the joint forest and land fire task force team from OKI Regency BPBD, Manggala Agni, and OKI Police swiftly took to the field to control the fire so it did not spread and regulate traffic for toll road users.

Efforts to extinguish forest and land fires (karhutla) by the joint land task force team do not always run smoothly. The location of the fire point in the middle of forest and bush land is a challenge in itself.

Apart from focusing on extinguishing efforts, the team must remain careful and prioritize safety.

"On the other hand, the availability of water sources is also very limited after the dry season also drained the water storage locations. However, the joint task force team remained solid in fighting the fires which have become more rampant in the last few days," he said.

Meanwhile, according to the OKI Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) team's report as of Sunday (17/9) at 20.07 p.m. Western Indonesian Time (WIB), the fire that burned bushes on 0.5 hectares of land belonging to the people of Pangkalan Lampam District has not been completely extinguished but so far it can be controlled. There are 46 hotspot points that have been identified.

In anticipation and further handling of forest and land fires, a joint team of both land and air task forces will continue to monitor and carry out extinguishing and cooling efforts. Apart from that, forest and land fire alert posts were also added after the OKI Regent raised the alert status to a forest and land fire emergency.

Through this increase in status, all stakeholders, including the private sector, are asked to support efforts to handle forest and land fires until the fire can truly be controlled.