18 Planes Deployed to Combat Fire

Pekanbaru (Antara Bali) - The National Disaster Mitigation Board (BNPB) will use 18 planes and helicopters to cope with forest and plantation fires in Riau and Kalimantan.

"That is the result of a coordination meeting at the Coordinating Ministry for People's Welfare in Jakarta," Riau Deputy Governor Arsyadjuliandi Rachman said in an emailed statement to Antara on Thursday night.  
    
Arsyadjuliandi said he reported forest and plantation fires to the ministerial-level coordination meeting on "Anticipating the Impact of Drought and Controlling Forest and Plantation Fires" at the ministry on Thursday.  
    
Also present at the meeting were Agriculture Minister Suswono, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Home Affairs Minister  Gamawan Fauzi, BNPB Chief Syamsul Maarif, and Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Chief Andi Eka Sakya.

To use weather modification technology two Hercules planes and six Cassa planes will be used, while to use water-bombing technology two amphibian planes, two Kamov helicopters, two Sikosky helicopters and four Bolcow helicopters will be needed, Arsyadjuliandi said.

"Everything has been made available for Riau and Kalimantan. But Riau is a priority," he said.

Since February 26, the Riau provincial government has declared a state of emergency as the province has been blanketed by haze from forest and plantation fires.

Hundreds of troops, police personnel, members of the  forestry ministry's forest fire brigade, personnel of the local administration and volunteers of the Riau disaster mitigation agency (BPBD) have been deployed to put out the fires.

The Army itself has deployed two battalions of 150 personnel to help put out the fires. The Terra and Aqua satellite detected 134 hotspots in Riau on Thursday morning, and most of them were located in the districts of Bengkalis, Rokan Hilir and Pelalawan.

More personnel will be deployed in Bengkalis district, where the largest number of forest fire hotspots has been detected. A number of Bengkalis residents have also been evacuated to safer places as their villages are shrouded by thick haze. (*/DWA)