Peatland Injection Method Used to Extinguish Forest Fires in West Kalimantan
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) is optimising the peat injection method to extinguish forest and land fires (karhutla) deep beneath the ground surface in Rasau Jaya Tiga Village, Kubu Raya Regency, West Kalimantan.
BNPB Head, Suharyanto, explained that this method is a key strategy for managing fires in peatland areas. “Because the characteristics of peat allow embers to persist beneath the surface, even after the surface flames have been extinguished,” Suhary anderto said on Saturday, 5 September 2026.
He stated that fire suppression in West Kalimantan continues through a combination of ground operations, aerial operations, and weather modification operations.
BNPB, alongside the Governor of West Kalimantan, Ria Norsan, and the Commander of Kodam XII/Tanjungpura, Major General TNI Novi Rubadi Sugito, directly monitored the firefighting efforts in Rasau Jaya Tiga Village, which have been ongoing for six days.
“We are currently conducting weather modification operations. I am inspecting the ground operations led directly by the Governor and the Regional Commander to extinguish fires in the Kubu Raya area, specifically in Rasau Jaya Tiga Village,” he said.
He noted that the fire in the location covers approximately 7 hectares, but the suppression process is slow due to the peatland terrain. Over the past six days, about six hectares of land have been successfully managed.
The characteristics of peat mean that simply spraying water on the surface is insufficient; water must penetrate down to the soil layers where embers can still survive and trigger the re-emergence of smoke.
“One of the techniques is peat injection. A long pipe with a sharp tip is used, equipped with a pump at the end so that water is injected directly into the ground,” he explained.
Suharyanto stated that this technique allows water to be injected directly into the peat layers, ensuring the soil becomes thoroughly saturated so that underground embers can be completely extinguished.
He emphasised that the main challenge in handling forest fires in West Kalimantan is ensuring that fire does not resurface from within the peat, particularly as smoke can still emerge even after surface flames have been controlled.