Forest and land fires that hit South Kalimantan, until Friday (18/8/2023) are increasingly widespread. In fact, due to the rampant forest and land fires, smog continues to cover the National Road, which limits visibility and worsens air quality.

The forest and land fires (karhutla) that occurred in the Pengayuan of Jembatan Dua area, Liang Anggang District, Banjarbaru City, are still occurring and increasingly widespread.

The magnitude of the blaze made it even more difficult for officers to be able to put out the forest and peatland fires. As a result, the haze continues to cover access to the National Road which connects a number of districts and cities in the South Kalimantan region.

In addition, due to the dense haze coming from forest and land fires, the air quality is also getting worse.

One of the BPBD officers for the Province of South Kalimantan, Rahmat Hidayat, said that during the forest and land fires in the Pengayuan area, the blaze was getting wider and continuing to spread so that it approached residential areas and disrupted traffic flow. This was due to dry conditions and strong winds so that the flames continued to emerge.