Firefighters are trying to put out a peatland fire threatening homes on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island

By MUHAMMAD HATTA
Associated Press

PALEMBANG, Indonesia (AP) — Firefighters are trying to put out a peatland fire on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island that was growing in size near a dense residential area. The effort is made difficult by the limited firefighting equipment and distant water source, a one-hour trip to the fire’s location in the area of Pulau Negara village in South Sumatra province. Local residents are helping the firefighters since the fire is burning near their homes. The fire also was burning close to a highway that connects the district capital to South Sumatra’s capital. Firefighters were trying to stop the fire from spreading to the road to avoid smog that would lower visibility. Indonesia’s forest and land fires are an annual problem that strains relations with neighboring countries.