South Kalimantan forms team to tackle fires at three priority sites

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4 hours ago

Banjarbaru (ANTARA) – South Kalimantan has formed a special team to accelerate responses to forest and land fires at three priority locations in Banjarbaru, Deputy Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said.

Nurofiq confirmed the policy after leading a firefighting operation in Guntung Damar, Banjarbaru, the capital of South Kalimantan Province, on Sunday (August 23).

The team will accelerate containment across 700 hectares in Pengayuan, 300 hectares in Liang Anggang and 120 hectares in Guntung Damar, he said.

Nurofiq, a former environment minister, said the three areas require “intensive suppression efforts tailored to their conditions and soil characteristics.”

He said stronger firefighting efforts are needed to extinguish hotspots and prepare for higher risks, as the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency has warned of a prolonged dry season.

“This dry season will not end anytime soon, prompting the governor to accelerate the response as much as possible,” Nurofiq said, stressing the need to prevent new hotspots.

In Guntung Damar, authorities have been working to extinguish fires burning through peatlands one to three meters thick, he said.

The provincial government has mobilized hundreds of water pumps to wet two areas with extensive peat coverage, he added.

“Peat rewetting is extremely important here,” Nurofiq said.

He also highlighted plans for local military and police forces to deploy additional personnel to firefighting operations to ensure faster and more effective results.

Nurofiq set a two-week deadline to extinguish fires at the three priority sites, urging coordinated action to contain both fires and the resulting haze.

“The haze problem in South Kalimantan must be tackled,” Nurofiq said.