The Joint Team Intervened To Put Out 25 Hectares Of Forest Fires In Bengkalis Riau

The joint team struggled to extinguish the fire on 25 hectares of burned land in Bengkalis Regency. (ANTARA)

The joint team consisting of the TNI, Polri, BPBD, Damkar, and Disaster Care Community (MPB) in the local area struggled to extinguish the fire on 25 hectares of forest land that caught fire in Bengkalis Regency, Riau Province.

"The fire burned forests and land for two days hit Kembung Luar Village, Bantan District, Bengkalis Regency, Riau. Efforts to extinguish land fires were not easy, because the land burned was peatland and vegetation consisted of sickles and shrubs," said the Head of Public Relations of the Riau Police, Kombes Sunarto, quoted by ANTARA, Sunday, March 19.

He said the strong winds and the hot weather conditions caused the smoke to become more thick, but that did not make the officers' enthusiasm recede in extinguishing the fire. Land fires have occurred since last Saturday.

Until this Sunday it was the second day of extinguishing efforts, and it was still ongoing. The team extinguished manually, bringing the pump engine spraying water to the location. In addition, the officers were also assisted with heavy equipment to make barriers so that the fire would not spread even more widely.

"The joint team, he said, involved in the blackout consisted of the Bengkalis Police and the Bantan Police 55 personnel, Kodim 0303 Bengkalis and Koramil Bengkalis 20 personnel, BPBD Bengkalis 20 personnel, Damkar Bengkalis 23 personnel, and MPB 50 people," he said.

"By taking the land route, the team carried 10 water pump machines, 25 hoses, 10 nozzles, and 1 heavy excavator. The location of the fire was difficult to reach. There was no road access to it, so officers were forced to clear the bush and other plants to make an entrance to the Karhutla location," he said.

The officers' challenge to extinguish the fire is also strong winds, hot weather, peat-contoured land and acacia wood and bushy shrubs that are flammable, so officers must work hard in extinguishing them.

"Currently most of the burned areas have been extinguished. The area of the burned area can also be minimized. Officers will be at the location until cooling down and at the same time ensure the fire is completely extinguished," Sunarto said.