"Based on the results of the Terra and Aqua satellite monitoring, six hot spots were found in three districts in Riau as of 4.00 p.m.," the head of the BMKG Station in Pekanbaru, Sugarin, said on Monday.
The six spots were among the 38 hot spots detected in Sumatra. Sixteen of the remaining 32 hot spots were in Jambi, 12 in South Sumatra, three in Bangka Belitung and one in Lampung.
Three of the six hot spots in Riau were found in the Kampar district, two in the Kuansing district and one in the Indragiri Hulu district.
Sugarin said Riau, which has a temperature of 32 to 34 degrees Celsius, is prone to forest and land fires.
The Riau Provincial Disaster Mitigation Board had said earlier that fires that broke in 1,872 out of 1,880 hectares of land, had been put out.
"Since June 22 this year, 1,872 hectares of land has caught fire," he said.
It is feared that forest and land fires will continue to take place in Riau as the current drought will affect most parts of Riau until September 2015. (*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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