BPBD deploys four helicopters to waterbomb karhutla in Banjarbaru

A helicopter ready to drop waterbomb to stamp out fires in Landasan Ulin Selatan Urban Village, Liang Anggang Sub-district, Banjarbaru City, South Kalimantan, Monday (Aug 14, 2023). (ANTARA/Tumpal Andani Aritonang)

Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan (ANTARA) - The South Kalimantan Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) deployed four water bombing helicopters to stamp out six points of forest and land fires (karhutla) in the City of Banjarbaru and surrounding, Monday.

The fires engulfed several areas that were welknown to the local community, namely Cempaka, Banjarbaru Prison, Pengayuan, Guntung Damar, Pandahan, and Tambak Tarap.

“We deploy four helicopters at once to extinguish fires in areas that cannot be reached by the ground task forece,” said Head of Emergency and Logistics of the BPBD Pormadi Dharma in Banjarbaru, Monday.

The Volunteers Task Force Coordinator of the BPBD Mansyah said the fire broke at around 15.00 Wita, then the agency's personnel spread to the six points of karhutla in the South Kalimantan capital.

“More than 200 joint personnel have split up to handle the forest and land fires in Banjarbaru City,” said Mansyah.

He said the blaze was suspected to be caused by land burning activities and the remaining embers from yesterday's fire thought to be still burning beneath the ground of the semi peatland.

He said the fire has approached residents' houses, but was then controled thanks to alertness of volunteers at the location.

Since 15.30 Wita the volunteers have been shifting locations, until 20.50 Wita personnel are still struggling hard due to karhutla still burning in the Banjarbaru area.

Mansyah said the extent of the fire is still being recorded, but he estimated that karhutla had engulfed tens of hectares of land in the location.

He said, the agency will coordinate with the provincial Health Office to recommend that the local residents to use mask.

In the last two months, the City of Banjarbaru is often hit by smog due to forest and land fires that occur almost every day.

Mansyah asked residents not to clear land by burning, especially since the water supply in South Kalimantan has begun to decrease due to the dry season. So it is quite difficult to handle karhutla when water supplies are limited.