46 Hotspots Detected In E. Kalimantan

Jakarta, Sept 12 (Antara) - NOAA 18 Satellite has detected 46 hotspots of forest and plantation fires in East Kalimantan, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Center (BNPB) reported here on Friday. "The 46 hotspots could trigger wild fires in the surrounding forest areas. The local authorities should deal with the hotspots immediately," he stated. Currently, East Kalimantan has the highest number of hotspots compared to other provinces, he noted. Based on BNPB`s monitoring until September 8, 2014, hotspots have been detected in 15 provinces across Indonesia, including East Kalimantan (46 hotspots), West Kalimantan (27), Central Kalimantan (19), South Kalimantan (16), Southeast Sulawesi (5), South Sulawesi (5), South Sumatra (4), North Kalimantan (4), Central Sulawesi (4), East Java (3), Riau (2), Aceh (1), Lampung (1), and Bali (1). The provinces have taken measures to deal with the hotspots, he said. Sutopo has called on the authorities in other provinces to remain vigilant on the possible appearance of hotspots in their areas. Indonesia has nine provinces that are prone to forest fires due to several factors, including drought, noted Arief Yuwono, deputy III of the Ministry of Environment. "Data have been collected on the nine provinces. The provinces have to take preventive measures in order to act immediately if forest fire occurs," Arief stated recently. The nine provinces are North and South Sumatra, Jambi, and Riau, as well as West, East, Central, South, and North Kalimantan. Major forest fires had occurred in Riau Province last year, and this year major fires are expected to occur in South Sumatra and Central Kalimantan, he said. "In Riau Province, forest fires in 2013 had raged across 20 thousand hectares, and losses incurred by the state reached Rp10 trillion. Ecological features sustained heavy damage," he added.