Forestry Ministry contains 7-ha fire in Riau as cooling continues

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Ministry of Forestry swiftly extinguished forest and land fires spanning seven hectares in Rokan Hilir District, Riau Province, through its specialized fire control brigade, Manggala Agni.

"While fires have been completely put out, smoke persists. We are now conducting a cooling operation to ensure total extinguishment,” said Ferdian Krisnanto, head of the ministry’s Forest Fire Control Center.

In a statement received in Pekanbaru on Monday, he noted that the blaze broke out both on the surface and underground in Pulau Serdang Village, Simpang Kanan Subdistrict, consuming weeds, bushes, and palm oil trees on peatland.

He further explained that the affected area lies within a production forest under community ownership.

Krisnanto added that the ministry deployed a single Manggala Agni team from Dumai City to contain the wildfires in collaboration with police officers, soldiers, local authorities, and residents.

Drawing water from two ditches measuring two meters wide and one meter deep, the fire control unit worked to extinguish the flames while establishing a perimeter around the burned area to prevent the fire from spreading into zones still containing combustible material.

"On-field reports indicate smoke is still visible in several sections with ample combustible material,” he said, noting that the operation was still underway under cloudy skies.

He also highlighted aerial firefighting efforts involving waterbombing helicopters and acknowledged that coordination remained challenging due to limited cellular connectivity at the site.

Data from the Pekanbaru Station of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) showed nine hot spots across Riau as of Monday, including three in Rokan Hilir, two in Pelalawan, two in Rokan Hulu, and one each in Inderagiri Hulu and Dumai.

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Translator: Bayu Adha, Tegar Nurfitra

Editor: Primayanti

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