Sangatta, East Kalimantan (ANTARA) – The Australian government support for forest and land fire control has begun with aerial firefighting operations targeting several hotspots in East Kutai District, East Kalimantan.
“We have provided them with the coordinates for water bombing,” the Acting Head of East Kutai Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), Khairunnisa Nur, informed on Sunday (November 8).
She informed that the fire hotspot, located on Jalan Guru Besar, North Sangatta Village, North Sangatta Sub-district, has scorched approximately 4 hectares of land. The dry weather contributed to the rapid spread of the fire into residential areas.
Therefore, the East Kutai BPBD sought assistance from the East Kalimantan provincial government, which responded by deploying aerial firefighting support.
The operation involved two aircraft, a Lockheed C-130H Hercules for the water bombing mission and a Cessna Citation as a pilot aircraft to the target location.
“Later, they will conduct aerial monitoring to determine the coordinates of emergency points, those close to residential areas, and those with high altitudes,” Nur stated.
The two aircraft took off from Balikpapan, with target locations selected based on the severity of the situation, the extent of the fires, and their proximity to residential areas.
In East Kutai, the effects of forest and land fires are beginning to affect local residents, with smoke from fires in North Sangatta reportedly spreading into nearby residential areas.
Nur acknowledged that firefighting efforts on the ground continue to face several challenges, particularly limited access to fire locations and the large area affected by the fires.
“Today, all the fires are approaching residential areas. The immediate priority is to respond to the situation, while reporting can be completed afterward,” she remarked.
According to her, this situation requires East Kutai BPBD personnel and volunteers to prioritize direct extinguishing efforts in vulnerable residential areas.
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Related news: Australian water bombers begin operations to fight fires in Kalimantan
Translator: Muhammad Hafif, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Primayanti
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