Local wildfires under control, but Kalimantan hotspots a worry

Firemen in Bintulu in northern Sarawak battling wildfires in about 10 acres of bush land that started burning since Tuesday evening. - Bomba pic

MIRI: Satellite images obtained by Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department are showing worsening wildfires in Kalimantan, resulting in smog being blown into the state.

Firemen in Sarawak are also battling several wildfires in Mukah, Bintulu and Bintangor.

Some 10 acres of wildfires have been burning since Tuesday (Aug 14) evening in Kg Assykirin in Bintulu.

In Mukah, peat fires in Daro are being extinguished, while in Bintangor, wildfires have been contained.

Warning on transboundary haze from Kalimantan and local wildfires in southern and central Sarawak that may worsen the haze situation. - Bomba Sarawak pic

Sarawak Bomba in its latest updates said firemen were on the ground to contain local wildfires but the main worry now was the transboundary haze from the dozens of hotspots raging in west Kalimantan.

A change in wind direction is believed to have blown the haze across the border into Sarawak.

Dozens of hotspot clusters, appearing as red dots on satellite images, have been detected in western Kalimantan

A hotspot signifies a fire that is at least one sq km in size, thus making it big enough to be detected by satellite hovering 100km above earth.