Pekanbaru, Riau, July 13 -- The Indonesian Ministry of Forestry swiftly extinguished forest and land fires spanning seven hectares in Rokan Hilir District, Riau Province, through its specialized fire control brigade, Manggala Agni.

"While fires have been completely put out, smoke persists. We are now conducting a cooling operation to ensure total extinguishment," said Ferdian Krisnanto, head of the ministry's Forest Fire Control Center.

In a statement received in Pekanbaru on Monday, he noted that the blaze broke out both on the surface and underground in Pulau Serdang Village, Simpang Kanan Subdistrict, consuming weeds, bushes, and palm oil trees on peatland.

He further explained that the affected area lies within a production forest ...