Alert! BMKG Detects 66 New Hotspots In East Kalimantan

Illustration: Former forest and land fires in Linggang Bigung District, West Kutai Regency, which were checked by BPBD Kubar, Saturday (19/8) (Antara / HO BPBD Kubar)

BALIKPAPAN - The Balikpapan Station Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported detecting 66 hotspots in East Kalimantan (Kaltim).

Hotspots are indicators of forest or land fires (karhutla) detected from a location with relatively high temperatures compared to the surrounding temperatures, so that related parties are expected to carry out treatment.

"A total of 66 hotspots were monitored throughout Friday (18/8) from 01.00 to 24.00 WITA," said the Coordinator for Data and Information at the Class I Meteorological Station Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman - Sepinggan Balikpapan Diyan Novrida in Balikpapan, Saturday.

For this reason, he invites all levels of society to take care of each other and be vigilant, such as not throwing cigarette butts carelessly, then not burning when managing the land. Moreover, it is currently a dry season that causes many leaves and twigs to dry up, making it very prone to forest and land fires.

The distribution of 66 hotspots, he continued, had been informed to related parties, including the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) both at the provincial and district/city levels.

Earlier, Wednesday, August 16, BMKG Balikpapan also detected 97 hotspots in one city and six districts, namely Balikpapan City one point, Paser Regency 12, West Kutai five points, East Kutai 35, Kutai Kartanegara 34 points, Berau nine points, and Mahakam Ulu Regency one hot spot.

However, the hotspots have been extinguished, after being informed to related parties and immediately handling them. Meanwhile, 66 hotspots monitored throughout Friday are new hotspots in different locations.

A total of 66 hotspots, quoted from ANTARA, Saturday afternoon, are spread across six districts, namely Paser (6), West Kutai (3), East Kutai (21), Kutai Kartanegara (27), Berau (1), and Mahakam Ulu Regency (8).

"The details include 21 points in East Kutai spread over seven sub-districts, namely Sangatta Utara (2), Bengalon (9), Busang (3), Kongbeng (1), Muara Bengkal (1), Rantau Pulung (3), and Telen District (2). All these hotspots have a level of intermediate confidence," concluded Diyan.