Fires Burn 85-Hectare Land in Rokan Hilir in Riau Province

TheIndonesia.co - The disaster mitigation office (BPBD) in Riau province has confirmed that forest and land fires have burned at least 85-hectare area in Rokan Hilir regency in the province while collective efforts to extinguish the fires continue.

Head of BPBD Riau M Edy Afrizal said his office has been working with the military, the police, and forest fire control unit Manggala Agni to continue the attempt to put out fires in three locations in the regency.

“The three locations of the forest and land fires in Rokan Hilir are Labuhan Tangga Besar, Teluk Nilap, and Raja Bejamu,” Afrizal confirmed on Wednesday, July 13, as reported by Antara.

According to him, fires burn a relatively large area in Labuhan Tangga Besar in Bangko subdistrict, but aerial photograph has reportedly showed improvement, and it’s expected that the fire can be entirely extinguished within the next few days.

“The areas that have been burned in Rokan Hilir so far have reached 85 hectares, and the attempt to put out the fire is expected to be optimized alongside other agencies who support the efforts in the field,” the BPBD Riau leader said.

Water bomber helicopter has also been deployed to assist the effort.