OGAN KOMERING ILIR, Indonesia: Housewife Sadriah, 21, was looking after her four-month-old son in late September when she suddenly saw aher house in Tanjung Serang village, Ogan Komering Ilir regency, South Sumatra provinceand rushed to a friend’s house in another village while her husband stayed back to extinguish the fire with other villagers.“But when we arrived home, there was still smoke, so we stayed in our room,” said Mdm Sadriah, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.
Authorities have yet to release the latest data, but South Sumatra has more hotpots than other provinces in Sumatra this month. Aerial view of forest fires in Ogan Komering Ilir regency, South Sumatra, Indonesia, in September 2023. Indonesia is no stranger to land and forest fires, which authorities blame on culprits who purposely set fires to clear land, many of them for oil palm plantations since the archipelago is the world’s largest palm oil producer.“Here in Ogan Komering Ilir, 99 per cent of forest and land fires are caused by humans,” said Mr Muhamad, chief firefighter of Ogan Komering Ilir, who goes by one name.
Since the land in the regency is mainly peatland, it is especially hard to extinguish, he pointed out.Peatlands have layers of partially decayed vegetation and organic matter deep beneath the surface, which can keep smouldering for months if not extinguished properly.Hence, they release huge amounts of carbon dioxide when they get burned.“The other challenge is access to the hotspots as many fires are in remote places.
They are South Sumatra, Riau and Jambi on Sumatra island and West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan on Indonesia’s Borneo, said Mr SuharyantoA farmer in Soak Batok village, Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, uses a bucket to extinguish fire. FARMERS NOT WELL-EQUIPPED The fire was just across the couple’s land, where they had planted oil palm trees. It was also just a few metres away from their house.“I was shaking when I saw the fire. My husband immediately started spraying water, so I helped him,” said Mdm Samsiah, who goes by one name.The villagers had sought help by contacting the local firefighters, but given the remoteness of their village, they had yet to arrive when CNA witnessed the fire on Sep 25.
Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)