Task Force Extinguishes 8 Karhutla Points At OKU South Sumatra

The Karhutla Task Force Team extinguished the fire of forest and land fires on vacant land in Gunung Meraksa Village, Saturday. (ANTARA/Edo Purmana/23)

BATURAJA - The Karhutla Task Force Team of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Ogan Komering Ulu Regency (OKU), South Sumatra (Sumsel) extinguished eight hotspots of forest and land fires (karhutla) so as not to cause a smog disaster.

Manager of the OKU BPBD Pusdalops Gunalfi said the forest and land fires incident occurred in eight areas at the same time on Friday (22/9) at 23.30 WIB.

"The exact source of the fire is not yet known," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, September 23.

He explained that the hotspots appeared in eight areas in OKU Regency, including Air Paoh Village, Baturaja Permai Village, Banuayu, Lubuk Batang, Kemelak Bamung Langit, Tanjung Baru and Gunung Meraksa.

The average hotspot appears on community-owned agricultural land with a total area of land burned by more than 42 hectares (Ha).

Luckily, after receiving the report of the forest and land fire incident, his party immediately dispatched dozens of personnel to the location so that the fire did not spread widely into residential areas.

In extinguishing the Karhutla Task Force Team, the fire struggled to extinguish it using water tankers and other equipment.

His party was constrained by narrow road access, making it difficult to pass four-wheeled vehicles to the location.

However, thanks to the hard struggle, the fire was finally extinguished at around 02.00 WIB until the morning.

"For the current condition, seven hotspots have been successfully extinguished and the cooling process has been completed. Meanwhile, the hotspot in the Gunung Meraksa Village area is currently still in the cooling process," he said.

Even though the fire had been extinguished, he continued, the Karhutla Task Force Team was still on standby at the location to anticipate the emergence of other hotspots that could trigger forest and land fires.

"Including we are monitoring hotspots through Brin Hotspots and Songket Applications," he said.