Government raises forest fire alert despite declining hotspot numbers

The government continues to raise its alertness regarding forest and land fires (karhutla) even though the number of hotspots in several regions of Indonesia shows a downward trend.

Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni in Palembang on Monday said the decline in hotspot numbers is a positive development, but it is not yet a reason to lower vigilance because the potential for forest and land fires still exists.

The decline in hotspot numbers has occurred in several areas that were previously regions with high hotspot counts.

For example, Central Kalimantan previously recorded up to 1,116 hotspots in two days, then dropped to around 300 points after joint handling was carried out.

West Kalimantan’s hotspot count also fell from around 800 to 400 points. Meanwhile, Riau was reported to have no hotspots, Jambi had one remaining point, while South Sumatra also dropped from 39 to 37 points.

However, the decline in hotspot numbers does not mean all fires have ended, especially in areas with peatland. This is because fires on peatland can leave embers beneath the surface even when flames are no longer visible.

He said the cooling and wetting process must be carried out intensively and repeatedly to ensure that embers stored within the peat do not reignite into fire points.

“If intensive cooling or wetting is not carried out repeatedly, it has the potential to become a fire spot again,” he said.

Meanwhile, Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Suharyanto said hotspot data detected by satellite needs to be verified before being categorised as fires.

Verification is carried out using various means, including helicopters and drones.

In South Sumatra, of the 37 high-intensity hotspots monitored, field inspection results showed 11 points were genuinely fire spots.

In addition to firefighting, the government is also preparing weather modification operations (OMC) by utilising rain potential in early September.

Based on information from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), there is potential for rain seeds on 1–6 September 2026.

The rain potential is expected to help extinguish fires that are still active while also wetting dry land and reducing the likelihood of embers re-emerging.

Suharyanto stressed that the government will still carry out intensive forest and land fire handling throughout September.

“In September we will still be struggling to extinguish the fires,” he said.