JAKARTA - The forest fire team from the Ministry of Forestry faces an unusual challenge when fighting forest and land fires (karhutla) in Riau Province. In the midst of the extinguishing operation, the officers even had to face a Sumatran Tiger that appeared around the location of the fire.
Head of the Forest Fire Control Center (Dalkarhut) for the Sumatra Region of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ferdian Krisnanto, said that his party had deployed the Manggala Agni Forest Fire Control Brigade to put out the karhutla in a number of Riau and Riau Islands areas.
He explained that the appearance of the tiger occurred around the location of the blackout in Pulau Muda Village, Pelalawan Regency.
"Last night around the location of the blackout on Pulau Muda, one Sumatran tiger was found. This condition is of course a vigilance from all members to maintain safety during work. Safety work SOP must be carried out with discipline," said Ferdian in a statement confirmed from Jakarta, Antara, Wednesday, March 11.
According to Ferdian, officers in the field are currently also facing other challenges, ranging from very hot weather to the physical condition of personnel who are fasting.
To ensure the safety of officers and the protection of wildlife, his party has coordinated with the Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency to deal with the presence of the tiger.
As of Tuesday (10/3), the Manggala Agni team together with various parties continued to struggle to control the fire so that it does not spread. The extinguishing operation was carried out in a coordinated manner in a number of areas, including Kampar Regency, Bengkalis Regency, Indragiri Hilir Regency, Pelalawan Regency, to Batam City in the Riau Islands Province.
In Kampar Regency, karhutla was reported to have occurred in Rimbo Panjang Village, Tambang District. Meanwhile, in Bengkalis Regency, a fire appeared in Sukarjo Mesim Village and Teluk Lecah Village, Rupat District, and Tanjung Leban Village, Bandar Laksamana District.
Fire points were also found in Tanjung Pidada Village, Tempuling District, Indragiri Hilir Regency. Meanwhile, in Pelalawan Regency, the fire hit Pulau Muda Village, Teluk Meranti District.
Meanwhile, in the Riau Islands Province, the forest fire occurred in Rempang Cate Village, Galang District, Batam City.
Based on the Ministry of Forestry's satellite image analysis, the area of forest fires in Riau in the January-February 2026 period reached around 4,400 hectares, with around 94 percent of it being peatland.
The two areas with the largest fires were recorded in Pelalawan Regency and Bengkalis Regency. Meanwhile, the area of karhutla in the Riau Islands was recorded at around 1,162.52 hectares.
"Pelalawan and Bengkalis regencies are currently our focus for extinguishing and prevention. All teams in the field continue to work intensively to control the situation and prevent the potential for the expansion of karhutla," said Ferdian.
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