Antara News·Indonesia·Thursday, August 20, 2026 at 09:18 AM

Joint team extinguishes 10.65 ha wildfire in East Kalimantan's Penajam

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M Ghofar, Raka Adji

N Penajam Paser, E Kalimantan (ANTARA) - A joint team successfully extinguished a 10.65-hectare forest and land fire in Sepan village, Penajam sub-district, North Penajam Paser district, East Kalimantan, following a relentless battle that began Wednesday afternoon and ended Thursday morning.

The joint team comprised local government agencies, security forces, forestry managers, private companies, and local community members.

"The fire burned through mineral soil covered in brushwood, trees, and timber piles," said Nurlaila, Head of the North Penajam Paser District Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), in Penajam on Thursday.

The fire was first spotted on Wednesday (August 19) at 1:15 p.m. Central Indonesia Time (WITA) during a routine patrol, followed by an official report minutes later at 1:23 p.m.

Outlining the timeline, Nurlaila explained that authorities first detected a hotspot via the Lembuswana monitoring system around 10:00 a.m. Community policing officers (Bhabinkamtibmas) from Sepan and Sotek villages were then dispatched to inspect the site.

"From the inspection, officers found several hotspots that were already spreading. They immediately called Sotek Fire Station to head to the location while coordinating with other agencies," she said.

Once the report reached the BPBD Operations Control Center, a team was immediately dispatched to the site and coordinated with all relevant parties.

The firefighting effort involved a wide range of equipment and vehicles, including water tankers, portable pumps, and specialized wildfire response vehicles.

"Firefighting and cooling operations wrapped up at midnight WITA. While the visible flames were put out, numerous embers and smoldering hotspots remained, as they could not be safely tackled at night," she explained.

As a result, she further said, the team returned this morning to inspect the site and continue cooling operations.

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