East Kotawaringin Regency Decides to Extend Forest and Land Fire Emergency Status
The East Kotawaringin (Kotim) Regency Government, Central Kalimantan, has decided to extend the emergency response status for forest and land fires (karhutla) from 1 to 15 October 2026 to anticipate potential fires and haze in the region.
“Based on BMKG forecasts, the rain occurring currently is still the result of weather modification or artificial rain. It is estimated that the rainy season will only begin in mid-October with low to moderate intensity, so we have agreed to extend this emergency status,” said the Regent of Kotim, Halikinnor, in Sampit on Tuesday.
He made this announcement after leading an evaluation meeting on forest fire management. The meeting involved various relevant agencies, regional apparatus, and forest fire volunteers.
Halikinnor stated that the decision to extend the emergency status was made by considering field developments and weather forecasts from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
The emergency status was previously scheduled to end on 30 September 2026. However, the local government assessed that weather conditions and the threat of forest fires still require intensive handling, leading to a 15-day extension.
According to the BMKG forecast, he hopes that by mid-October, rainfall will increase, helping to control hotspots and reduce the haze that could still emerge in several areas.
“If by 15 October the rainfall intensity is sufficiently high, hotspots are gone, and there is no smoke, then we will end the emergency period and move into the recovery phase,” he added.
Meanwhile, according to data from the East Kotawaringin Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) up to 29 September 2026, there have been 1,176 recorded fire incidents, with the affected land area reaching more than 2,009 hectares.
Furthermore, the number of monitored hotspots has reached 38,304 points. This data represents incidents handled by the East Kotawaringin Forest Fire Management Task Force.
However, not all incidents can be handled directly by the task force due to difficult-to-reach locations. Some interventions are also carried out by the provincial government through the support of waterbombing helicopters, which may result in data discrepancies with the provincial level.
According to Halikinnor, the evaluation of fire management is not only aimed at addressing the current situation but also serves as material for developing prevention measures to ensure similar incidents do not cause significant impacts in the future.
The East Kotawaringin Regency Government is also preparing recovery steps for burnt lands, including potential replanting and the management of vacant land to prevent it from becoming fire-prone.
“We have also requested the Environmental Agency to prepare seedlings and determine how burnt lands and vacant plots can be managed again,” he said.