Banjarbaru, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) – The Indonesian Ministry of Forestry is preparing to deploy 1,000 forest rangers to help extinguish forest and land fires across three provinces in Kalimantan.
“Tomorrow or the day after, rangers from various regions, including headquarters, will be assigned to Kalimantan,” Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan, on Sunday.
The minister explained that the distribution of personnel will be adjusted based on the needs and conditions of each province, with priority given to West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan.
Antoni noted that the deployment will bolster ground teams fighting the fires, joining forces with the land task force.
“In the field, their operations will be coordinated alongside Manggala Agni (forest firefighting brigade) and other joint personnel,” he added.
According to him, burned areas in Kalimantan present challenging terrain, as peatlands require lengthy cooling operations to douse hidden embers beneath the surface.
“Even when flames are no longer visible on the surface, smoke persists underground and can reignite at any time due to scorching heat or strong winds,” the minister explained.
In South Kalimantan, Antoni monitored firefighting operations in several regions such as Banjar District and Banjarbaru City. He checked the conditions of the joint personnel and equipment, including water-bombing helicopter support.
Indonesia is battling wildfires in several regions amid the strong El Nino phenomenon.
The government has designated ground firefighting efforts as the primary strategy for tackling the fires across six provinces in Kalimantan and Sumatra that are prioritized for containment.
The six priority provinces are West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Riau, South Sumatra, and Jambi.
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Translator: Firman, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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