Government Has Not Declared Forest and Land Fires a National Disaster, Citing Response Capacity

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Dudung Abdurachman said the government had no plans to declare the forest and land fires a national disaster. He said the government was still capable of handling the emergency.

“Not yet, not yet. We are still capable of dealing with it,” Dudung said when asked whether the fires would be declared a national disaster, after a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday (12 October 2026).

Dudung stressed that the government was continuing to maximise its response to the fires in several regions. According to a report from the Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) during the meeting with Prabowo, six provinces were the focus of the response.

Among those regions, Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra were receiving particular attention.

“Another priority in Central Kalimantan is Tanjung Puting, or the area around the national park, because it needs to be protected as there are animals there,” he said.

He said helicopter operations had been carried out. However, the response on the ground was currently relying more heavily on land operations, as very thick smoke was making aerial firefighting difficult.

“The BNPB chief reported that helicopter operations had been carried out, but operations on the ground have been more dominant because it is difficult to reach the area from the air, as the smoke is too thick,” he said.