41 Hotspots Detected, East Kalimantan Still Hit By Forest And Land Fires In The Middle Of Rainy Season

Illustration. Officers are promoting forest and land fires in Penajam District, North Penajam Paser Regency (PPU), East Kalimantan. (Between / HO Pusdalops BPBD PPU Regency)

The Balikpapan Station's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) detected a drop in hotspots in East Kalimantan Province (Kaltim).

In the last three days from 181 hotspots to 76 points, and down again to 41 points.

"On Saturday (February 24) 181 points were detected, on Sunday (February 25) it fell to 76 points, and on Monday (February 26) it fell again to 41 points," said Sultan Aji's Coordinator for Data and Information Station Class I Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan BMKG Balikpapan Diyan Novrida in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Tuesday 27 February, which was confiscated by Antara.

A total of 41 hotspots monitored throughout last Monday occurred from 01.00 to 24.00 WITA.

Information on the distribution of hotspots has been conveyed to related parties such as the Fire Rescue and Extinguishing Service, Manggala Agni, and the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) at the provincial and district/city levels, so that further action can be taken.

He said as many as 76 points monitored on Sunday, February 25 were spread across four districts, namely West Kutai (1), East Kutai (29), Kutai Kartanegara (42), and Berau (4).

Meanwhile, 41 hotspots monitored last Monday were spread over three districts, namely East Kutai (14), Kutai Kartanegara (25), and Berau Regency (2).

The details in East Kutai Regency are spread across two sub-districts, namely Bengalon (13) and Kaubun District (1), all of which have a middle level of trust.

Meanwhile, in Kutai Kartanegara Regency, everything is in Muara Kaman District and all of them have a middle level of trust. Meanwhile, in Berau Regency, both are in Derawan Island District with a middle level of trust.

Even though the number of hotspots has decreased, he still urges all parties to always be vigilant and prevent forest and land fires (karhutla) from occurring, such as not burning in the forest or in the land so that there is no addition or expansion of hot spots.

"Alert needs to be done because a number of areas are still experiencing hot weather in a few consecutive days, so this can cause branches and dried leaves that are prone to forest and land fires when exposed to fire or coal," he said.