Asking For 10 BNPB Helicopters To Help Handling Forest And Land Fires, South Kalimantan BPBD Hopes To Arrive July 2023

SOUTH KALIMANTAN - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) plans to send 10 helicopters to deal with forest and land fires (karhutla) in South Kalimantan Province (Kalsel).

Daily Executive (Plh) Head of the South Kalimantan Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPPB) Bambang Dedi Mulyadi said the helicopter was a request from his party.

"We use the helicopter to reach a fire area that is difficult for land transportation to pass," he said in Banjarbaru, Sunday, June 18, which was confiscated by Antara.

According to Bambang, the helicopter is planned to arrive from late June to July.

"We continue to coordinate with BNPB so that helicopter assistance can be delivered as soon as possible," he said.

He said that the 10 helicopter aids had different types and functions.

He explained that as many as two helicopters were used to patrol all over South Kalimantan.

Meanwhile, eight more units are water bombing helicopters.

Bambang said that the handling of forest and land fires using helicopters in South Kalimantan is very much needed because it is an area prone to forest and land fires.

Furthermore, the field field in South Kalimantan is also difficult because there are many swamps and wilderness that are difficult to pass using land transportation.

He revealed that the South Kalimantan BPBD requested helicopter assistance as a follow-up to the increasing number of forest and land fires that hit South Kalimantan, especially in the Syamsudin Noor Airport area, which is a priority for preventing the smog disaster due to forest and land fires.

This is an extra alert attitude for the South Kalimantan BPBD Team in an early effort to prevent forest and land fires.

Bambang also asked all his staff in districts and cities to always maintain equipment regularly in order to facilitate handling during forest and land fires.

Meanwhile, South Kalimantan BPBD Pusdalops Manager Ricky Ferdyanto said there were more than 2,000 fire deposits spread in South Kalimantan.

"The fire has hit about 100 hectares in South Kalimantan," he said.

He said the widest fire in Tanah Laut Regency was around 47 hectares of land.