Forest and Land Fire Smoke Disrupts Traffic Flow on Riau-North Sumatra Highway

Smoke from forest and land fires (karhutla) has blanketed the highway linking Riau Province with North Sumatra in the Rantau Bais Village area, Tanah Putih District, Rokan Hilir Regency, on Saturday, 14 March 2026. The thick smoke from the fire has covered the Trans-Sumatra Highway, disrupting traffic flow. The conditions have also severely restricted drivers’ visibility at a time when holiday traffic is increasing ahead of Eid al-Fitr.

One returning holiday traveller, Arifin, a resident of Pekanbaru, experienced the conditions firsthand whilst travelling to his hometown of Medan with his family. He explained that the forest fire smoke was extremely thick and covered the road for approximately one kilometre. “The forest fire smoke on the road is extremely thick and very disruptive. Visibility is only around 10 metres. I had to turn on my vehicle’s hazard lights to prevent accidents,” Arifin said when reached by telephone.

According to him, the severely restricted visibility forced vehicles to travel slowly to avoid the risk of collisions, particularly with oncoming traffic. Arifin also reported seeing flames not far from the road itself. The fire appeared quite large, and the smoke plume was directed directly across the highway, further disrupting vehicle traffic. He expressed hope that the government would take swift action to extinguish the fire, as the highway is one of the main routes for holiday travellers. He added that trucks carrying crude palm oil should be banned from using the route ahead of Eid al-Fitr, noting he had seen significant numbers of such vehicles on the road.

Tanah Putih Police Chief Yudi Indranaldi confirmed the occurrence of smoke that had blanketed the highway. However, he stated that traffic conditions have begun to normalise. “Yesterday the smoke on the road was severe, but by this morning it had begun to normalise again,” Yudi said when contacted. Police personnel and members of the Indonesian National Military remain at the scene conducting firefighting operations and cooling efforts on the burnt land.