The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) detected 16 hotspots indicating forest fires in five districts in East Kalimantan Province.

“A total of 16 hotspots are detected today starting at 1 a.m. until 4 p.m. WITA (Central Indonesian Standard Time) and we have immediately conveyed (the information) to the respective districts,” Iwan Munandar, forecaster at the Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman (SAMS) Sepinggan Meteorology Station, said here on Saturday.

The information of the hotspots was passed on to the Regional Disaster Mitigation (BPBD) Offices in the five districts to alert them to deal with the hotspots, he said.

The five districts were East Kutai, Kutai Kartanegara, West Kutai, Paser, and Berau.

Of the total 16 hotspots, five were detected in Segah Sub-district, Berau District; two in Siluq Ngurai Sub-district, West Kutai District; one each in Marangkayu Sub-district, Muara Kaman Sub-district, and Tenggarong Seberang Sub-district in Kutai Kartanegara; two each in Kaubun Sub-district and Muara Wahau Sub-district, East Kutai District; and two in Long Kali Sub-district in Paser District.

Indonesia has managed to drastically reduce the number of hotspots of forest and plantation fires over the last several years thanks to close monitoring and preventive efforts supported by the country’s military and police personnel.

The country is planning to move its capital city from Jakarta to a new area located in Samboja in Kutai Kartanegara District and Sepaku in North Penajam Paser District in East Kalimantan Province.

Source: Antara News