KUBU RAYA, thekabarnews.com—Kodam XII/Tanjungpura is building bore wells and modifying water pumps to help firefighting teams respond more quickly to forest and land fires (Karhutla). This is especially critical in hard-to-reach parts of Kalimantan.

The military command operates across West and Central Kalimantan, where peatlands, swamps and limited road access often complicate ground operations.

Fire crews can lose critical time when they must transport water over long distances. They also lose time if they cannot bring fire engines close to a hotspot.

Kodam XII/Tanjungpura is addressing the first problem by constructing bore wells in areas considered vulnerable to fires.

The wells are intended to place water closer to potential fire zones. This allows personnel to begin suppression without waiting for tanker trucks or extended hose connections from distant sources.

However, Kodam XII/Tanjungpura had not released the number, locations, depths or pumping capacities of the firefighting wells when this report was prepared. It had also not published comparative response-time data. Thus, it remains unclear how much time the new infrastructure could save.

The second measure involves a modified SPM motor pump. The system pushes water through long hoses toward fires in swampy or muddy areas that conventional firefighting vehicles cannot enter.

The equipment could allow crews to keep pumps near an accessible water source while extending hoses toward isolated fire fronts. Kodam has not yet released detailed technical specifications, including maximum pressure, flow rate or operating range.

The measures come as West and Central Kalimantan continue to face elevated wildfire risks during the peak dry season.

BMKG’s Himawari-9 satellite monitoring showed that high-confidence hotspots in West Kalimantan increased from 92 to 140 on August 25.

Central Kalimantan recorded a sharper rise from 113 to 352, according to the agency’s weather outlook for August 27 to September 2.

Kodam XII/Tanjungpura has also deployed about 1,200 additional personnel in three battalion-sized units to reinforce operations in West Kalimantan. The deployment includes firefighting equipment and teams assigned to educate communities about fire prevention.

“As task force commander, we are working with central agencies: the West Kalimantan provincial administration, BPBD, the police, BNPB, Manggala Agni volunteers and local communities,” Kodam XII/Tanjungpura Commander Maj. Gen. Novi Rubadi Sugito said in an official TNI Army statement.

The bore wells and modified pumps support ground suppression but cannot replace early detection or enforcement against unlawful burning.

Their effectiveness will depend on whether crews maintain the equipment and position it near priority areas. They must integrate it with local firefighting units.

Publishing the wells’ locations and operational results would also help authorities. This would help assess whether the program delivers faster and more reliable wildfire response.