JAKARTA, Indonesia: A forest and land fire in Sungai Guntung Hilir in Indonesia’s Riau province has scorched 434.35 hectares of peatland and remains active despite 16 days of firefighting operations.
Manggala Agni Rengat Operations Area chief, Muhammad Sodik, said the latest estimate, calculated using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery had risen sharply from about 50 hectares when the fire was initially detected.
“On the 16th day, two hectares were extinguished bringing the total area extinguished to approximately 45 hectares, while the burned area covers 434.35 hectares,” he said, according to Antara news agency on Tuesday (Aug. 18).
He said the fire was burning through peatland covered by shrubs and oil palm in Rengat district, Indragiri Hulu regency.
Sodik said dense vegetation and water sources located about 300 to 500 metres from firefighting positions were hampering operations, with four firefighting pumps and supporting equipment deployed at the site. – BERNAMA
