Riau declared state of emergency as forest fire spread
Haze in Pekan Baru, Riau - AFPpic
Riau governor Annas Maamum had declared the the province a state of emergency as forest fires that have raged for almost a month, continued to spread on Thursday, the Jakarta Globe reported.
“I’ve been busy working on how to deal with the fire from morning until late at night. I’ve declared a state of emergency now. We’re not messing around,” Annas was quoted telling the Antara News Agency, Wednesday.
The forest fires began earlier in February as the dry season intensified in the province.
The local police was reported to have arrested nearly 40 people for setting fires throughout Riau but the impact of the arrests is yet to be seen as fires burned on nearly 6,000 hectares of land.
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