Pekanbaru, Riau (Antarariau.com) - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has detected 51 hot spots in Sumatra with fire potential reaching up to 50 percent.
The head of data and information of the agency s Pekanbaru office in Sumatra s Riau province, Slamet Riyadi, admitted here on Friday that the number of hotspots declined from 68 in the morning to 51 in the evening on the same day.
"At 4pm, the satellite had detected 51 hot spots in three provinces in Sumatra, namely in Riau (47), Lampung (3) and West Sumatra (1)," he informed.
The 47 hot spots in Riau were spread in five districts, namely, Rokan Hilir (22), Siak (13), Bengkalis (9), Rokan Hulu (2) and Kampar (1).
The Riau province has 8.9 million hectares of forests and peat land which is vulnerable to fires during dry season. Its total land area is 4.36 million hectares.
Three helicopters are involved in efforts to douse the forest fires in Bengkalis and Rokan Hilir through water bombing.
"Two helicopters, MI-8 and MI-171, are focusing on Tasik Serai, Pinggir sub-district, Bengkalis while an MI-8 focused on Rokan Hilir," a member of the Task Force charged with fighting forest fires, Major Ferry Duwantoro, disclosed.
He states that until Friday afternoon, the two helicopters had conducted a total of 104 water bombing sorties and the operation was still on.
Fires in the coastal area of Riau must be closely watched and brought under control because the smoke plumes billowing from these could potentially reach neighboring countries, he added.
BMKG Detects 51 Hot Spots In Sumatra
