Only January 2023 Karhutla In Pekanbaru Covering An Area Of 4.5 Hectares

RIAU - Forest and land fires (karhutla) about 4.5 hectares (ha) occurred in Pekanbaru City, Riau Province, throughout January 2023.

"Currently, there are three land fires, we have extinguished the land fire," said Head of the Emergency and Logistics Division of the Pekanbaru City Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) Alan Kurnia in Pekanbaru, Riau, Tuesday, February 7, as reported by Antara.

He detailed that a fire on January 30, 2023 occurred on an area of 2.5 hectares in the Selaras Street area and the day before the fire occurred on an hectare of land on Mulya Sari Street, South Tangkerang Village, Bukit Raya District.

In addition, he continued, the fire covered one hectare of land in Rejosari Village, Tenayan Raya District, on January 7, 2023.

Pekanbaru City BPBD is on standby to prevent and tackle forest and land fires, especially in vulnerable areas.

Ahead of the dry season, the City BPBD has coordinated with the Riau Province BPBD and the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to increase preparedness to deal with the potential increase in forest and land fires.

"To the residents, we urge them not to clear land by burning it," he said.