16 FIRES RAGING IN RIAU

Pekanbaru, Feb 15 (ANTARA) - Sixteen fires raging in a number of areas in Riau province, according to the local Meteorology and Geophysics Agency at Sultan Syarif Kasim airport.
"The fires indicate there are forest and bush fires in a number of areas in Riau province," a staff member of the agency, Ardhitama, said here on Sunday.
He said based upon the latest observation by the NOAA 18 satellite 16 fires were detected in a number of districts and towns in the province.
He could not tell the exact location of the fires due to technical constraints but the office could confirm that most of the fires were in the district of Bengkalis. "Most of the fires are found in Bengkalis," he said.
He said the office predicted the fires were caused by drought that intensified with temperature in the province reaching 33 degrees Celcius on Sunday afternoon.
The rising drought index would cause fires to spread easily especially to forests cleared by slash and burn activities. In view of that, he said the agency had called on the people not to clear land using this method that could cause forest fires and smog.
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