Amuntai, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - North Hulu Sungai (HSU) Regent Abdul Wahid asked the task force and volunteers to be alert to anticipate forest and land fires considering the dry season. He also urged citizens not to burn trash, worrying the fire would spread.
"It is better to avoid burning trash, aside from polluting the environment, embers now easily spread during the dry season," Wahid reminded in Amuntai, Tuesday.
He said, all parties must anticipate, work togetherness in mutual cooperation. The regent did not forget to express his gratitude for the community's awareness of not setting fire to land clearing.
To the head of forest and land fires task force, the Regent asked to continue monitoring hotspots in prone areas thus prevention can be done early.
In the preparedness ceremony at the Pahlawan Field, Tuesday, the task force together with firefighters demonstrated a simulation to extinguish land and forest fires.
Head of HSU Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) Sugeng Riyadi said, the amount of land burned in the district until August was relatively small compared to other regions.
Likewise, he said, land fires could still be overcome by the task force assisted by firefighters and community members.
"Based on BMKG information, the peak of the dry season will end in October, so people are advised to remain vigilant and be careful, especially when burning," said Sugeng.
HSU Police Chief Adj Sr Comr (AKBP) Ahmad Arif Sofiyan emphasized that the police would not hesitate to crack down on perpetrators of burning forests and land.
"We have prepared three task force units at the police station, one of which is the action task force that will criminalize the perpetrators of land burning according to applicable law," he pointed out.
The ceremony was also attended by Deputy Regent of HSU, representatives of the 1001 Amuntai Military Command, Transportation Agency, Satpol PP, sub-district heads, task force members and volunteers.
