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Riau engulfed by hundreds of fires despite rain
Hundreds of forest and land fires again engulfed Riau despite heavy rainfall
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Hundreds of forest and land fires again engulfed Riau despite heavy rainfall.
More than 100 personnel of the Manggala Agni forest firemen are battling fires that are consuming forests and plantations spread across eight out of 10 regencies and municipalities.
Head of the Riau Natural Resources Conservation Center, Rahman Siddik, said that by Wednesday afternoon the NOAA 18 satellites picked out 172 fires in the province.
Bengkalis regency has the most with 97 fires while Kuantan Singingi regency and Dumai municipality have the least of only one fire each.
The number of fires monitored Wednesday was higher than Tuesday which had only 160 fires in five regencies.
"The fires keep appearing despite the rain. They are even spreading," Rahman told The Jakarta Post.
"Bengkalis and Pelawalan have suffered the most damage but the regents are not responsive."
Rahman said the quickly spreading fires were not caused by natural means but were being set on purpose.
"The best indication to prove that these fires are being lit on purpose is the fact that the water level at the trenches in the forest or oil palm plantation areas are still high," he said.
"It is impossible that a fire can be ignited just from the friction of dry twigs. It must have been burned to open oil palm plantations."
When contacted, Rahman said he was on the way to Bukit Kapur area in Bengkalis regency to monitor a fire razing a 200-hectare area.
Affected areas
Bengkalis 97 fires
Pelalawan 42 fires
Indragiri Hilir 15 fires
Siak 8 fires
Indragiri Hulu 5 fires
Rokan Hilir 3 fires
Dumai 1 fire
Kuantan Singingi 1 fire
