Riau BPBD Reveals Tens Of Hectares Of Burnt Land

Head of BPBD Riau, Edy Afrizal helps extinguish land fires (Photo Antara/HO-Archive BPBD Riau 2021).

KOTA PEKANBARU - Head of the Riau Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Edy Afrizal, said that by early February 2022, forest and land fires (karhutla) in Riau had reached more than 91.46 hectares and the dominant burned land was in coastal areas.

"The area of 91.46 hectares of burned land was found in eight areas, the most being in Bengkalis Regency with 24 hectares and Pelalawan Regency covering an area of 22.2 hectares," said Edy Afrizal in Pekanbaru, as reported by Antara, Wednesday, February 2.

He said that part of the 91.46 hectares of burned areas also came from Dumai City covering an area of 3.35 hectares, Meranti Islands District 1 hectare, Siak District 4.28 hectares. In addition, in Pekanbaru City covering an area of 2.13 hectares, Kampar Regency covering an area of 6 hectares, and Indragiri Hulu Regency covering an area of 0.5 hectares.

"The rest are from Indragiri Hilir Regency, Kuantan Singingi Regency, Rokan Hulu Regency, Rokan Hilir Regency there have been no reports of burned land," he said.

The forest and land fires in Riau are quite extensive, he said again, so next week the Riau BPBD will invite BPBD heads throughout Riau to discuss forest and land fires.

The most important thing that must be conveyed is to districts that are dominant in burning land, he said, emphasizing that they must quickly determine the status of forest and land fires alert.

"If there has been a determination of the forest fire alert status, at least two regions that have set the forest fire alert status, it will be the basis for the province to determine the same status," he said.

He said that the determination of the alert status for forest and land fires was more encouraging so that the forest and forest fires would not spread and only set the alert status, to anticipate earlier before the forest fires spread.