Raja Juli: Fires Have Been Extinguished, Yet Some Continue to Play with Fire
The Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni, has revealed that certain parties are continuing to engage in land burning even after forest and land fires (karhutla) have been successfully extinguished. He noted that a trend of increasing hotspots is becoming visible every weekend.
“However, every time the fires are put out, there are still people willing to play with fire to start burning again. We are seeing a trend where this increases during the weekend. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday always see an increase,” Raja Juli stated at the Senayan parliamentary complex on Wednesday (1%6/9/2026).
Raja Juli said this situation poses a significant challenge to fire management, especially when officers have already exerted efforts to extinguish fires in various regions. He urged the public, farmers, and corporations to refrain from land burning amidst the current intense El Niño conditions.
“Therefore, I urge individuals, farmers, and corporations not to play with fire during this period of very strong El Niño,” he said.
According to Raja Juli, the drought conditions are expected to persist until late October or early November. He noted that the forecast for natural rainfall, previously predicted for early October, now has the potential to be delayed.
“This means the strong El Niño, similar to the El Niño of 2015, will remain with us for approximately another 1.5 months,” he added.
Despite the reports of repeated burning, Raja Juli stated that the overall number of hotspots is showing a downward trend. He mentioned that this data can be monitored openly through the Forest and Land Fire Control Information System (SiPongi) of the Ministry of Forestry.
“I cannot predict, but I must report that as of today, the numbers are continuously decreasing. This data is very open and transparent. Colleagues can check it on the Ministry of Forestry’s SiPongi,” he said.
Based on high-confidence hotspot data provided by Raja Juli, the number of hotspots was recorded at 398 on 12 September, then 576 on 13 September, increasing to 1,309 on 14 September, before dropping to 968 on 15 September.
In the six main provinces prone to forest fires, West Kalimantan saw a decrease in hotspots from 221 to 51. Central Kalimantan also dropped from 697 to 226.
Meanwhile, South Kalimantan decreased from 112 to 106, while South Sumatra dropped from 259 to 200. In Jambi, hotspots increased from 14 to 18. In Riau, the number rose from five to 15 after no hotspots were detected for four days.
“Our main concentration remains in Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, and South Sumatra,” said Raja Juli.
Raja Juli stated that the government continues to conduct fire mitigation through five steps: weather modification operations (OMC), water bombing, strengthening ground task forces, law enforcement, and community participation.
“We have agreed with the Heads of BNPB and BMKG that the most effective way to extinguish these fires is through rain via artificial rain or OMC (Weather Modification Operation),” said Raja Juli.
He stated that OMC will be conducted whenever there is potential for rain clouds, including in areas that have not yet experienced fires, to maintain moisture and prevent outbreaks.
“We have agreed that if there is any seed of rain, we will immediately conduct OMC. No matter how small the potential for rain clouds, we will perform OMC,” he said.
In addition to OMC, the government is maximising water bombing to reach remote areas that are difficult for ground forces to access. The strengthening of ground task forces involves increasing TNI-Polri personnel and deploying approximately 5,000 employees from the Ministry of Forestry.
“Within the Ministry of Forestry itself, we are deploying around 5,000 of our employees, particularly Forest Rangers, to assist in the six provinces prone to forest fires: Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan,” he said.
Regarding law enforcement, Raja Juli mentioned that 46 cases are currently being processed by the Directorate General of Forestry Law Enforcement, consisting of 15 corporations and 31 individuals. Furthermore, the business permits of 26 companies or corporations have been suspended.
“First, the suspension of business permits; second, compulsory environmental restoration, where they must undertake restoration under legal compulsion; and third, if there are indications of criminal activity against a corporation, we will proceed to criminal proceedings in coordination with the police,” he said.
Raja Juli emphasised that all these measures must work in tandem with public awareness to prevent land burning. “These five factors must be integrated and worked on together to reduce the impact of forest fires on the community,” he concluded.