Forest and Land Fire Minister Raja Juli Reveals Rising Trend During Weekends
The Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni, has revealed a rising trend in forest and land fire (karhutla) hotspots during weekends. According to him, fire hotspots tend to increase on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Raja Juli stated that the government is currently continuing to monitor and manage forest fires across various regions of Indonesia. However, firefighting efforts often face renewed fires in other locations immediately after previous fires have been successfully extinguished.
“These forest fires will still be with us until October or early November. The Manggala Agni Forestry, TNI, Polri, BNPB, and BPBD are struggling to extinguish the flames. But every time a fire is put out, there are still people willing to play with fire to burn again. And uniquely, there is a trend… the trend always rises during the weekend. On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, it always increases,” said Raja Julie when met at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, on Wednesday (16/9/2026).
He also urged the public, including individuals and business actors, not to engage in land burning amidst the very strong El Niño conditions.
“So, I appeal to individuals, farmers, and corporations not to play with fire during this very strong El Niño period. It is truly heartbreaking to see Manggala Agni, the TNI, and Polri struggling in the field, only for a fire to break out elsewhere just as they succeed in extinguishing one point,” he said.
Raja Juli assessed that community participation is a crucial factor in suppressing forest fires. He believes that government efforts through weather modification operations (OMC), water bombing, strengthening land task forces, and law enforcement will not be sufficient if the public continues to clear land by burning.
“Even if all the factors I mentioned are in place—OMC is running, water bombing is running, land task forces are strong, and law enforcement is active—if there is no community participation, especially the awareness to collectively refrain from land burning and use proper land clearing methods, then all the efforts we have made will be in vain,” he explained.
Raja Juli stated that the government will integrate five steps in handling forest fires: OMC, water bombing, strengthening land task forces, law enforcement, and increasing community participation.
“Therefore, these five factors must be integrated and worked on together to reduce the impact of forest fires,” he added.
On the other hand, Raja Juli mentioned that the overall number of fire hotspots is currently showing a downward trend. Based on data from the Ministry of Forestry’s Sipongi system, high-confidence hotspots were recorded at 398 points on 12 September, increased to 1,309 points on 14 September, before dropping to 968 points on 15 September.
Among the six priority provinces, Central Kalimantan still records a relatively high number of fire hotspots. Meanwhile, Jambi increased from 14 to 18 points. He also noted that the conditions in Jambi and Riau remain under control.
“So, our main concentration remains in West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and Sumatra, specifically South Sumatra. Once again, the trend is continuing to decrease due to the hard work of our colleagues from Manggala Agni, the Ministry of Forestry, TNI, Polri, BNPB, BPBD, and the fire-conscious community,” he concluded.