BNPB deploys water bombing helicopters to South Sumatra as fires rage

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has deployed patrol helicopters and water bombing aircraft to South Sumatra Province to mitigate 24 fire hotspots detected in the region. Head of the BNPB Data, Information and Disaster Communication Centre Abdul Muhari stated on Wednesday that the air operations aim to rapidly extinguish fires in locations difficult for ground teams to reach. “Based on the latest data as of Tuesday (9/6), an accumulation of 24 hotspots has been recorded across several areas of South Sumatra. The BNPB continues to provide air operation support in the form of patrol helicopters and water bombing helicopters to accelerate fire control efforts,” he said. Abdul explained that aerial water bombing intervention is crucial, given that the accumulated burnt land area in South Sumatra since the beginning of the year up to 8 June 2026 has reportedly reached 182.54 hectares. Besides South Sumatra, escalating forest and land fires on Sumatra Island have also hit Riau and Aceh, where a major blaze previously scorched at least 98 hectares across two sub-districts in Nagan Raya Regency, Aceh. In the Nagan Raya area, the local regional disaster management agency (BPBD) along with the military, police, and humanitarian volunteers are focused on ground handling by optimising two water pump units, with half of the total burnt area now successfully contained. Meanwhile, updated forest and land fire data in Riau Province shows a relatively more controlled situation, with a two-hectare land fire in the region confirmed to be completely extinguished by the joint team. According to Abdul, the BNPB will ensure intensified coordination with BPBDs across all fire-prone clusters in Sumatra to guarantee the readiness of ground water pumps and air patrols to operate simultaneously before the peak of the dry season arrives, as reported by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). Based on BMKG data updates up to the end of May 2026, the expansion of dry areas began in 200 seasonal zones (11.83 percent of the landmass), identified by brownish hues on the national climate distribution map. The movement of these dry zones is projected to surge dramatically this month, entering 198 new seasonal zones, equivalent to 31.6 percent of the landmass, covering areas from southern Jakarta to most of Kalimantan Island. Entering July, the dry season will expand into another 66 seasonal zones, including western Jambi, East Kalimantan, eastern South Kalimantan, most of Sulawesi, and North Maluku. Conversely, BMKG detected local anomalies due to broad topographic effects in seven seasonal zones (0.68 percent of the landmass) that are actually above normal or wetter, namely in Bengkulu, northern and southern Gorontalo, and a small part of East Nusa Tenggara.