Indonesia is currently faced with annual dry season making provinces with peatland-dominated areas vulnerable to fires. Central Kalimantan is among those provinces that have declared high alert of forest and land fires. In Palangka Raya, the 
capital city of Central Kalimantan, the land fires outbreak have been quite massive in city peripheries. Hectares of lands have been burnt by irresponsible people.
Despite collaborative efforts to extinguish land fires, the giant flames engulfing the city of Palangka Raya and other (sub)districts in Central Kalimantan have worsened. In recent months, more and more hotspots have been detected burning very large areas of the lands. As a consequence, the choking haze from the land fires have recently made a comeback requiring local residents to put on mask everyday to prevent inhaling the anoxious smog.
Although the haze does not affect the air traffic in Tjilik Riwut Airpot Palangka Raya, the intense haze exacerbated with strong smell from the white smog began to send hundred millions of lives Palangka Raya residents haunted with great peril of unhealthy air.
Coughing and shortness of breath are two direct effects of the smog. Local media have also reported the increase number of patients with cough and sore throat following the land fire outbreak in city peripheries. The Public Health Office (Dinkes) Palangka Raya have prepared medicines for patients who are affected by the smog.
To tackle the problems, many parties have been working together to extinguish the land fires including our community-based fire-fighting teams in the two neighbouring villages of Kereng Bangkirai and Sabaru. They have been involved actively giving their best efforts in stopping the widespread of land fires in Palangka Raya. The teams jump into the battlegrounds to combat the fires together with firefighters from other local communities, police members, and government agencies.
Considering the importance of local community participation in extinguishing fires, we want everyone to join us taking actions to prevent the giant flame in Borneo because we cannot do this all alone. We need your support to help our firefighters recruit more members and equip them with fire-fighting equipments to combat the fires. More members of the team will boost the attempt to extinguish the fires that have been widespread. Equally important, complete fire-fighting gears will protect our teams and help them to protect the lives of others.
We thank our donors (the UK Government through Darwin Initiative, ICCTF, The Orangutan Project, Arcus Foundation, Orangutan Appeal UK, US fish and Wildlife Service, Zoos Victoria and LA Zoo) that have provided us with generous support in establishing firefighting teams that are now on the frontline combatting the fires. Your care and concern about the future of our environment is such a great inspiration for us all. (AE)
|  |
