Firefighting Teams Continue to Struggle with Forest and Land Fires in Riau
The firefighting operations for forest and land fires (Karhutla) in Riau Province continue unabated. Currently, Manggala Agni teams are extinguishing fires at three locations in Riau: Desa Titi Akar, Rupat Utara, Bengkalis Regency; Pulau Muda, Pelalawan Regency; and Teluk Meranti Subdistrict, Pelalawan Regency.
“At the Desa Titi Akar site in Rupat Utara, operations are being handled by one team from the Sarolangun operations unit, one from Musi Banyuasin, and two from the Dumai operations unit. Manggala Agni is focusing on containing the fire’s spread towards residential areas,” said the Head of the Forest Fire Control Centre (Dalkarhut) for Sumatra, Ferdian Krisnanto, on Thursday (2/4).
He explained that the main challenges in extinguishing the fires so far are strong and changing winds. Water sources are very limited, so a combination of pump and backpack pump methods is being used for firefighting.
“We have also requested assistance from the air task force through the Head of the Riau BPBD for water bombing at the fire head locations heading towards dense vegetation in the forest,” he added.
He revealed that access to the Titi Akar location involves travelling about 1.5 hours from the Roro Rupat crossing to Titi Akar. Then, the ground teams cross again by boat from Dusun Hutan Samak for around 15 minutes.
“After that, they use motorbikes to reach the scene, taking about 30 minutes. This illustrates that mobilising personnel and equipment is not easy. Currently, the Manggala Agni team is on day four of operations at Titi Akar. The local hamlet government has helped by lending one hut for the team to stay in,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Ferdian said the firefighting site at Pulau Muda was declared extinguished this afternoon. “This morning, the Rengat operations unit team conducted mopping up and re-checked the area to ensure it is clear and clean,” he said.
Additionally, he continued, one squad from the Rengat operations unit is en route to Gambut Mutiara in Teluk Meranti Subdistrict to carry out firefighting.
“It is possible they can cross to the location this afternoon,” he concluded.
The death of Manggala Agni personnel in Bengkalis has prompted calls from the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) for improved safety standards and insurance.
The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut), through the Directorate General of Forest Law Enforcement, continues to intensify forest and land fire control efforts (Dalkarhutla) in Riau Province.
The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) continues to strengthen efforts to control forest and land fires (Karhutla).
Forest and land firefighting squads (Karhutla) from Manggala Agni are intensifying extinguishing efforts at several fire hotspots in Riau Province and the Riau Islands.
The area of forest and land fires (Karhutla) in Riau during the January-February 2026 period reached 4,400 hectares, with 94% of it on peatlands (4,173.82 ha).