387 Firefighting Personnel and Air Fleet Deployed to Control Forest and Land Fires in Riau
The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut), through the Directorate General of Forest Law Enforcement, is intensifying efforts to control forest and land fires (Dalkarhutla) in Riau Province. This action follows an increase in the burned area and extreme dry weather conditions that have placed the entire Riau region in a status of very high fire risk for forests and lands (karhutla).
Director General of Forest Law Enforcement, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, stated that his team, in a spirit of collaborative work with BNPB, BMKG, POLRI, TNI, the Riau Provincial Government, the community, and the private sector, continues to strive to control karhutla in Riau to keep Riau’s skies blue. Ground and air operations are being intensified to maintain environmental quality and public health.
For early detection, the Ministry of Forestry monitors hotspots using various types of satellites (Terra, Aqua, SNPP, and NOAA20). Based on monitoring from the Terra/Aqua satellite (NASA) with high confidence level from 1 January to 26 March 2026, 625 hotspots were recorded across Indonesia, with 42.56% (266 points) in Riau Province.
“The area of karhutla in Riau from January to February 2026 has reached 4,440.21 hectares, and this figure continues to rise with vulnerable weather conditions. To date, the joint team has successfully conducted 265 ground firefighting operations at several points,” said Dwi Januanto Nugroho on Saturday (28/3).
To address field challenges, Kemenhut has mobilised 387 joint personnel. The main force comes from Manggala Agni of the Sumatra Dalkarhutla Centre, spread across the Pekanbaru, Dumai, Siak, and Rengat Operations Areas. To strengthen the front line, Kemenhut has also sent Manggala Agni Operational Control Assistance Teams (BKO) from outside Riau, namely from the Bukit Tempurung (Jambi), Kota Jambi, and Labuhan Batu (North Sumatra) Operations Areas.
Head of the Sumatra Region Dalkarhut Centre, Ferdian Krisnanto, stated that Manggala Agni is currently working hard to extinguish fires at several critical locations together with district and provincial task forces, including in Mundam Subdistrict (Dumai), SM Giam Siak Kecil, Merbau Village and Pulau Muda (Pelalawan), Talang Jerinjing Village (Indragiri Hulu), and the Rupat Island area (Bengkalis).
“The initial strategy now is to contain the fire to prevent it from spreading, then strike and extinguish the head of the fire, and extinguish the main potential smoke sources,” said Ferdi.
The current challenges in the field are limited water for firefighting, along with decreasing rainfall that has caused a drop in groundwater levels, especially in peat areas. To overcome this, Manggala Agni, assisted by the community and local government, uses heavy equipment to dig water reservoirs, clean canals, and widen firebreaks.
In addition to ground firefighting, the operation is supported by 1 Kemenhut Bell 412-SP PK/DAS helicopter and 2 BNPB helicopters for patrol, water bombing, and evacuation missions, which have accumulated 20 hours and 39 minutes of flight time. Furthermore, following Riau Governor’s Decree No. Kpts.102/II/2026, Kemenhut has coordinated with BNPB and BMKG to carry out Weather Modification Operations (OMC) to accelerate karhutla handling through artificial rain.
“Responding to the trend of increasing karhutla area compared to 2025, synergy and collaboration among all social elements, both central ministries/institutions and local governments, private sector, NGOs, and local communities, is the main key in karhutla prevention efforts,” concluded Dwi Januanto Nugroho.