At least six hikers killed in Indonesia wildfire

At least six hikers were killed and three others suffered severe burns in a wildfire on Indonesia’s island of Java, according to the BBC.

Below is an excerpt from a BBC article:

Officials believe the fire [at Mount Lawu] was caused by a bonfire started by hikers that was not extinguished properly, and spread quickly due to dry conditions.

Local disaster agency official Agung Lewis told AFP news agency that the area the hikers were in had been closed off earlier.

“The area is actually closed for hiking because there had been previous cases of wildfires due to the dry weather, so we suspect these hikers could have used unofficial routes,” he told the news agency.

Tanker 132 to be deployed from Australia to Indonesia

Tanker 132 performing a demonstration water drop
Tanker 132 performing a demonstration water drop in New South Wales. Photo by NSW Rural Fire Service.

On September 1 Coulson’s Tanker 132 (an L-382G civilian version of Lockheed’s C-130) began an aerial firefighting contract in New South Wales, Australia. Next week NSW will loan it to the government of Indonesia to help fight some of the massive wildfires that have been smoking up the skies, creating health concerns downwind.

Below is information about the deployment provided by Shane Fitzsimmons, Commissioner of the NSW Rural fire Service:

Following a request from Indonesia, the NSW RFS will be deploying Thor, our C130 Hercules Large Air Tanker (LAT), to assist with forest fire fighting in the regions of Borneo and Sumatra this coming week. Following the approval of our Minister David Elliott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, tomorrow morning, a number of senior NSW RFS personnel will join officers from EMA and DFAT and depart for the region to prepare for the deployment. A number of aviation specialists from NSW and other States will also be deployed to support the LAT. The five day deployment is scheduled for departure early in the week, probably Tuesday pending final clearances.

Our VLAT, Southern Belle the DC10, will remain in NSW along with more than 100 other aircraft on call if needed. Should there be an unexpected change in current weather forecast, Thor can be recalled in 24-48 hours. I thank the NSW and Federal Governments and departments for their outstanding efforts in assisting with coordinating and managing this urgent request. Thanks to all involved and best wishes to all those deployed over coming days – stay safe.

Indonesia hopes to slow spread of wildfires by seeding clouds

From the Jarkarta Post:

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“The delayed arrival of two aircraft had postponed planned weather modification to extinguish land and forest fires in Riau, an official said Monday.

Pekanbaru’s Roesmin Nurjadin Airbase commander Col. M. Khairil Lubis said the two planes, which had been specially modified for cloud seeding, scheduled to start on March 1 had arrived late due to delayed administrative procedures.

“Based on the latest information from the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology [BPPT], the Cassa 212 planes owned by Pelita Air will depart for Pekanbaru today,” Khairil said after the launch of the Haze Disaster and Forest Fire Alert Operation at the Riau Governor’s office.

“The Indonesian Air Force will also deploy a CN-295 aircraft, or a Hercules plane for the same purpose,” he added.

“The cloud formation to the north of Riau is better now than a few weeks ago.

“The moment the planes arrive, cloud seeding will begin. The Hercules is able to carry three tons of salt each sortie, while the CN-295 and Cassa can haul two tons and a ton respectively,” he said.

“For the time being, aerial firefighting relies on water bombing using two helicopters from PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper and Sinarmas Forestry. The aerial firefighting has been ongoing for the past two weeks in Bengkalis, Pelalawan and Meranti Islands regencies,” said Khairil.

He pointed out that the Indonesian Military (TNI) had been very supportive of firefighting efforts in Riau.

“Besides soldiers, we have also deployed our weaponry, including fighter jets, to support operations. The Hawk 100/200 fighter jets based at Roesmin Nurjadin Airbase have been involved in patrols and photographing hot spots from the air since early February,” he said…”