Prabowo Confident Forest Fires Can Be Overcome: Years Ago It Was Worse and We Managed

President Prabowo Subianto has assured that the government is continuing to pursue mitigation measures to address forest and land fires. He has set a target for these efforts to halt the spread of hotspots.

“I think we are. I have seen the situation, we are monitoring it continuously. We are taking steps, mitigation. The important thing is that we immediately stop the expansion and addition of hotspots,” Prabowo told reporters at Tjilik Riwut Airport in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, on Saturday (22/8/2026).

Prabowo confirmed that incentive handling is ongoing. The central government will continue to meet the needs of regional governments, such as the addition of water-bombing helicopters and water drilling machines.

“Alhamdulillah, this is continuing. All officials are reporting their needs, and we are trying to fulfil them. Every day we add helicopters, equipment, drilling machines for water, all the equipment we are fulfilling,” he said.

Prabowo is optimistic that the forest and land fires can be brought under control. He drew on previous years, which were even more severe, yet were still successfully managed.

“So I hope we can soon regain control. And if we look at history… years ago, several years back, it was far worse and we were able to overcome it. So I believe we will soon overcome this,” he said.