Forest Fires Dwindle
10/17/97
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Headline: Forest Fires Dwindle
Source: Agence France-Presse
Date: 10/17/97
Copyright 1997 by Agence France-Presse
JAKARTA, Oct 17 (AFP) - The number of forest and ground fires
in Indonesia had dwindled to a dozen by Friday but thick smoke haze
continued to blanket several parts of Sumatra and Borneo, an
official said.
"The latest satellite photos from 1:30 a.m today (1830 GMT
Thursday) showed that there were only 12 fire spots detected in
South and East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and East Java," said an
official of the Coordination Centre of the Environmental Impact
Agency here.
The official who identified himself as Maman, said photos taken
seven hours earlier had detected 18 fires in South Sumatra, Central
and West Kalimantan and Java.
However, he added that not all fires could be accurately
pinpointed as layers of smoke haze often obstructed visibility.
A week ago, satellite imagery showed 40 fires in Sumatra,
Borneo, Sulawesi and Java. By late Sunday that figure had climbed to
62 but has been gradually decreasing ever since, he added.
Rains that started to fall two weeks ago initially appeared to
have helped quell the fires which have according to some estimates
destroyed up to 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) of forest
and ground.
The rains eased the task of about 1,000 Malaysian firefighters
drafted in to help local efforts in three Sumatran provinces to
dampen the fires and end the haze which has brought weeks of misery
to Indonesia's neighbours.
The Malaysians who have been deployed in Sumatra since September
2, left for home on board a Malaysian navy ship Thursday.
Dense smoke haze, however, remained over several parts of
Sumatra and Borneo, Maman said.
Visibility in Singkep, an island off the coast of Southern
Sumatra, and in Bengkulu and Jambi remained at below 400 metres
(1,336 feet), while in Borneo several areas in West and Central
Kalimantan had visibility below 300 metres, he added.
Airport officials in the Sumatran towns of Banda Aceh, Padang,
Jambi, Bengkulu, and Palembang, said by telephone that their
airports were closed early Friday because of the poor visibility.
The airport in the East Kalimantan town of Balikpapan was also
closed.
In Jambi, after five clear days, the haze has returned keeping
visibility down to just 40 metres (133.6 feet), the Antara news
agency said.
The agency also reported that 16,112 people in West Sumatra had
sought medical treatment for respiratory ailments believed to be
linked to the arrival of thick smog in late September.
Sixty-eight of their number were taken to hospital after
fainting in the haze.
Six Indonesians have died from haze-related ailments since
August and some 40,000 others had had their health affected.
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