Cabinet Secretary: 3 TNI Battalions and 6 Water-Bombing Helicopters Deployed to Tackle Kalimantan Forest Fires

President Prabowo Subianto chaired a limited meeting on forest and land fire (karhutla) management at the Air Task Force Command Post in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. During the meeting, Prabowo stressed the importance of a rapid, coordinated response delivered directly on the ground.

“The President also emphasised that regional governments must be firm in enforcing regulations in their areas, while strengthening preventive measures so that forest and land fires do not keep recurring,” said Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya in his statement on Saturday (22/8/2026).

Teddy outlined a number of measures being prepared to tackle the fires quickly. One of these is the addition of three TNI battalions from outside Kalimantan, which will be brought in gradually.

“The addition of three TNI battalions, or around 1,500 personnel from outside Kalimantan, will be deployed starting today until Sunday morning,” he said.

Teddy said the government is also deploying ground personnel to extinguish hotspots, along with six additional water-bombing helicopters that will arrive this afternoon.

The government will also expand weather modification operations to support firefighting efforts, taking into account the potential rainfall expected in West Kalimantan.

“We will increase and add pumping equipment and water drilling rigs, particularly on peatlands, to suppress underground hotspots,” he said.