2.5 Hectare Karhutla Occurs In East Bintan

Two hectares of land burned in the East Bintan District, Bintan Regency, Riau Islands Province, Saturday (12/8/2023). (ANTARA/HO UPTD East Bintan Firefighters)

Two land fires (karhutla) occurred in the East Bintan District, Bintan Regency, Riau Islands.

"Today there were two forest and land fires (forest fires) in the East Bintan area," said Head of the East Bintan Fire Department UPTD Nurwendi, who is also part of the Karhutla Task Force, reported by ANTARA, Saturday, August 12.

A fire hit an area of half a hectare in the Kijang Kota Village area, East Bintan District, at around 11.00 WIB.

After that, according to him, the fire covered an area of two hectares in the Sei Lekop Village area, East Bintan District, at around 13.00 WIB.

A fire broke out in an empty land near a residential area.

"The trigger factor is not yet known," he said.

Nurwendi explained that the land fire incident was known from residents' reports to the neighborhood administrator Rukun Warga, who then coordinated with the East Bintan District Karhutla Task Force to extinguish the fire.

According to Nurwendi, two fire engines with a water tank capacity of 3,000 tons were deployed to extinguish the land fires that occurred in two locations in East Bintan District.

Before firefighters arrived, residents had tried to extinguish fires covering land in their neighborhood.

"Residents have first tried to extinguish the forest and land fires with makeshift equipment," he said.

Officers and residents managed to extinguish the land fire and prevent the fire from spreading into residential areas.

Nurwendi said the land fire that occurred in East Bintan District did not cause casualties or losses.

Secretary of the Regional Disaster Management Agency of Bintan Regency, Agus Riyadi, appealed to residents not to clear land by burning during the hot weather like now.

"We also remind that there are legal consequences for residents deliberately burning forests and land, the threat of a sentence of ten years in prison and a fine of Rp. 10 billion as stipulated in Law Number 32 of 2009 Article 108," he said referring to the Law (UU) on Environmental Protection and Management.