A man tries to put out a forest fire in west Aceh, Indonesia, July 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Junaidi)
JAKARTA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Soldiers, personnel of disaster management agency and volunteers have striven to end forest fires which is potential to escalate prior to the peak of the dry season, in northern tip of Sumatra Island, a senior official said here on Tuesday.
The forest fires occurred on last Tuesday, spreading in a 64-hectare land in Aceh Besar district of Aceh province, spokesman of the national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho revealed.
The smokes from the fires have spread to other areas that led three people get medical treatment in a hospital for respiratory problem, the spokesman said.
"The peak of drought is forecast in August and September, so that the threat of forest and field fires will escalate," he told Xinhua in a text message.
In extinguishing the fires, the firefighters are hampered by difficult access to the scene, lacking of facilities and vehicles, and sources of waters, Sutopo said.
Satellite image detected 170 hotspots across Indonesia on Monday with 35 of them located in Aceh province of western Indonesia, he said.
Many other hotspots were found in Borneo Island in central parts of the country, said Sutopo.
Indonesia is frequently hit by forest fires with the biggest one in 2015, covering mainly the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Enditem
