Appreciating Forest Fire Handling in Central Kalimantan, President Prabowo Provides 3 Water Bombing Helicopters and 200 Water Pumps
President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, directly inspected the handling of forest and land fires (karhutla) in Central Kalimantan Province.
Prabowo arrived in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, on Saturday (22/8/2026). His arrival was welcomed by Central Kalimantan Governor Agustiar Sabran and local government officials.
During his visit, President Prabowo affirmed the government’s commitment to maximising efforts to extinguish forest and land fires still occurring in several regions.
The President then attended a joint meeting at the Central Kalimantan Forest and Land Fire Handling Command Post located in the Tjilik Riwut Airport area.
In the meeting, the Central Kalimantan Provincial Government presented the progress of forest and land fire handling as well as various obstacles faced in the field.
The Central Kalimantan Provincial Government together with BMKG were said to have taken anticipatory measures since March 2026 to prevent the spread of forest and land fires.
Based on satellite analysis by the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry, Central Kalimantan currently ranks ninth nationally in terms of forest and land fire area.
The area affected by forest and land fires in Central Kalimantan reached 7,634.46 hectares with 19,992 hotspots spread across 14 districts/cities. A total of 13 districts/cities have also declared emergency alert status for forest and land fire disasters.
To handle the situation, the local government deployed around 10,700 joint personnel. They came from various elements, such as BPBD, the Forestry Service, fire brigades, TNI, Polri, the Health Service, Manggala Agni, and volunteers.
Responding to these needs, President Prabowo immediately responded by adding three water bombing helicopters and 200 water pumps.
The additional equipment is expected to strengthen firefighting efforts while accelerating forest and land fire control in various areas of Central Kalimantan.
In addition to field handling, the Central Kalimantan Provincial Government also urged the public to wear masks and undergo health checks.
This measure was taken as an effort to anticipate the increase in health problems, particularly acute respiratory infections (ISPA), due to the impact of forest and land fire smoke.
Together with TNI/Polri, civil servants, Islamic community organisations, religious leaders, and the public, Governor Agustiar Sabran accompanied by Deputy Governor Edy Pratowo directly led the implementation of Salat Istisqa and joint prayers at the Talawang Besar Roundabout in Palangka Raya on Sunday (23/8/2026) to pray for rain amid the ongoing dry season.
Several hours after holding the Salat Istisqa and joint prayers, a number of areas in Central Kalimantan were immediately showered with rain. Rain points were observed around Palangkaraya City including Jalan Tjilik Riwut Km 9, the Badak Ujung road area, Kahayan Market, Besar Market, and Jalan Murjani.
Based on monitoring on various social media platforms of Central Kalimantan residents and local media, many people appeared to be posting about the rain falling in several areas of Central Kalimantan. They expressed gratitude for the rain, with one account saying the rain could help with forest and land fire handling as well as drought disasters.