TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Head of Public Relations and Information for the the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said that BNPB has detected a rise in the number of hotspots across several forested areas and fields in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

According to satellite imagery provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Agency's (Lapan) Terra Aqua satellite and NASA, 288 hotspots have been detected with a confidence interval of between 30-79 percent and higher, as per 06.00 Western Indonesia Time (WIB) on Sunday, July 3, 2016. The majority of the hotspots - 245 out of the 288 detected - are spread across Sumatra, while 45 others are located in Kalimantan.

"The hotspots are caused by the deliberate act of arson to clear off lands," said Sutopo through a press statement received by Tempo onSunday, July 3, 2016.

Out of the 245 hotspots detected across Sumatra, 29 are located in Aceh, 112 are located in North Sumatra, 47 in West Sumatra, 26 in Riau, 15 in Bengkulu, 10 in Jambi, 2 in Lampung, and 4 in South Sumatra. In Riau, hotspots are particularly clustered around Kampar, Dumai, Kuansing, and Inhu - while two hotspots are detected in Pelalawan, and eight others are detected in Rohil.

Attempts to extinguish the fires are lead by the Riau-based Forest and Field Fires Unit - and BNPB has deployed two MI-8 and M-171 helicopters with water-bombing capacities, as well as two Air Tractors, explained Sutopo.

Members of the Indonesian Army (TNI), National Police (Polri), local fire departments and Disaster Mitigation Agencies (BPBD), as well as civilian organisation have also joined forces to help fight the fires from spreading further.

Sutopo said that the Air Pollution Index (ISPU) in Lido, Rokan Ilir Regency, have indicated the presence of moderate-to-high level of air-borne pollutants, and visible smoke can be see around Pasir Limau Kapas district in Rohil Regency.

In the village of Sungai Solok in Kuala Kampar, Kampar Regency, efforts to extinguish flames are also being stepped up - as to date, 9 hectares of fields have been destroyed by fires, with a further 1.5 hectares destroyed in the village of Kapau in Kerumutan district.

Fires have also been reported in Tesso Nilo National Park in Pelalawan, Riau, and efforts to fight the flames in the Park are currently ongoing - but fires in Lima Puluh Koto Regency in West Sumatra are still burning, two days after it was first reported, as officials are facing difficulties in accessing the remote area.

As of Saturday, July 2, 2016, officials have managed to extinguish fires that raged across 25 hectares of land in the village of Karya Indah in Kampar Regency, as well as in Tampan Kota district and the Air Hitam subdistrict of Pekanbaru, where it destroyed 10 and 2 hectares of land, respectively.

Sutopo said that the drought conditions in the affected areas, as well as rough terrain have made it quite difficult for officials to quickly respond and extinguish the fires - a worrying fact, considering that conditions are expected to become even drier in July, August and September. "The number of hotspots are expected to increase," he said.

BNPB has ordered local BPBDs to step up their efforts to extinguish on-going fires, as to prevent more fires and hotspots from emerging - and warns local authorities to remain vigilant during the Eid al-Fitr holiday season. Residens are also advised to refrain from using fire to clear of land for agricultural purposes, as it has far-reaching consequences.

DANANG FIRMANTO