“The (forestry and environment) ministries have contacted us and requested that we immediately prepare an emergency response plan for the wildfire alert,” South Kalimantan Governor Muhidin informed during the 2025 Forest and Land Fire Disaster Preparedness Coordination Meeting here on Monday.
He explained that the emergency alert status was declared after two regions—Hulu Sungai Selatan district and Banjarbaru city— announced their own forest and land alert statuses.
“Banjar district should also be on alert because it borders Banjarbaru city. The burned areas in the two regions are located quite close to each other,” he said.
On Thursday (August 7, 2025), South Kalimantan will hold the Forest and Land Fire Preparedness Routine, which will be attended by officials from the Forestry Ministry, the Environment Ministry, and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), he informed.
Muhidin said that the presence of central government officials at the routine was confirmed after he signed the forest and land fire disaster status document for South Kalimantan on Monday, which will soon be reported to the BNPB.
He also requested all 13 districts and cities in the province to provide updates on their current status and wildfire management efforts.
The 13 regional heads, accompanied by their respective Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) heads, will provide the updates to the governor.
“I urge all districts and cities not to ignore even the smallest hotspot because large-scale forest fires begin with small hotspots,” he explained.
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Translator: Tumpal, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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