437 Hectares of Forest Fires Still Being Addressed in Six Priority Provinces
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has recorded approximately 437.3 hectares of land still undergoing management due to forest and land fires (karhutla) across six priority provinces.
BNPB Head Suharyanto stated that fire management efforts are ongoing in several regions of Sumatra and Kalimantan. The government continues to deploy both ground and air task forces to control the blazes.
“These are the six priority provinces currently being extinguished today. That covers 4/37.3 hectares,” Suharyanto said during a coordination meeting for fire management in East Kalimantan on Monday (14/9).
The six provinces identified as government priorities for fire management are Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan.
According to Suharyanto, conditions in several areas are beginning to stabilise. Riau, for instance, has started experiencing rainfall, making the fire situation relatively more manageable. “Riau has a significant amount, but because rain has started to appear there, it is relatively under control,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Central Kalimantan remains one of the regions where fire conditions and air quality require urgent attention. The government is continuing suppression operations while simultaneously working to prevent the fires from spreading.
Suharyanto emphasised that fire management does not rely solely on aerial operations. Ground task forces remain the primary force as they are more effective at reaching fire hotspots accessible via land routes.
Aerial operations using water-bombing helicopters continue to be utilised to reach inaccessible locations. However, he noted that helicopter use incurs high costs and has relatively limited daily suppression capacity compared to ground operations.
The central government continues to evaluate the progress of forest fires on a daily basis. Every development is reported to the central government to serve as a basis for determining the need for additional personnel or equipment.
Suharyanto urged local governments to strengthen their management efforts to ensure that regions currently outside the priority provinces do not experience an increase in fires. He expressed hope that the fire situation in several provinces could be controlled quickly to prevent the national suppression burden from growing.
Gibran [Rakabuming Raka] ensured that the government fully supports all regional needs and will dispatch assistance as soon as requests are made.
Gibran conducted working visits to Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan with the agenda of directly observing the forest fire conditions.
The government has deployed 12,880 joint personnel in Kalimantan to handle the forest fires.
Minister of Forestry Raja Antoni also mentioned that the progress of fire management is being continuously monitored by the Cabinet Secretary and the Minister of State Secretary.
The Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment, Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar, popularly known as Cak Imin, requested that the government avoid repeating the same patterns of failure in managing forest fires.