Outdoor fire

Forest and land fires in six priority provinces have reached 72,009 hectares. The National Disaster Management Agency or BNPB said most of the area had been extinguished, but 939.45 hectares were still being handled.
BNPB Head, Lieutenant General TNI Suharyanto, conveyed the data to President Prabowo Subianto via video conference, Monday, September 7.
The six provinces are West Kalimantan, Riau, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Sumatra, and Jambi.
"As of today, there are 72,009 hectares that have been burned," said Suharyanto.
Of that amount, 14,711 hectares are in concession land. Meanwhile, 57,298.02 hectares are in community and forest areas.
BNPB noted that 71,069.65 hectares had been successfully extinguished. The rest, 939.45 hectares, is still being handled.
Suharyanto said the figure could change every day because new fire points emerged or old fires re-ignited.
"Sometimes it also does not decrease significantly, because today a new fire point was also found," he said.
According to Suharyanto, peatland is a major challenge because the fire can reappear even though it has previously been declared extinguished.
BNPB determines the location of the fire based on hotspot information from the Ministry of Forestry and BMKG. The high-confidence point is then verified through aerial and ground patrols.
The blackout was carried out through land and air operations.
Suharyanto said the ground task force is currently the main mainstay because air operations are often hampered by weather.