State Secretary Claims Forest and Land Fires in 4 Sumatra Provinces Under Control

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi assessed that the condition of forest and land fires (karhutla) in four provinces on Sumatra is currently relatively under control. Nevertheless, there are a number of areas facing smoke problems due to burning peatlands and coal mining areas.

This was conveyed by Prasetyo after accompanying President Prabowo Subianto in leading a coordination meeting on handling forest and land fires in the Sumatra region on Monday (24/8/2026). Throughout the day, Prabowo conducted working visits to Pekanbaru, Riau and Palembang, South Sumatra.

Prasetyo explained that the visit was carried out to directly ensure the handling of forest and land fires. For that purpose, two coordination meetings were held in each region, including a zoom meeting with the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda) of Jambi and Lampung.

“Alhamdulillah, for Sumatra Island in the four provinces it is relatively under control. Several were reported to have no more hotspots,” he said.

“But indeed there is still smoke that continues to emerge because there are peatlands, and it was also reported earlier that there is coal in certain areas of Sumatra,” he added.

Prasetyo said that Prabowo emphasised that regional governments immediately resolve the remaining forest and land fire hotspots. Even though the remaining burning land area is small, the government is still asked to handle it thoroughly.

“But there are some that amount to only approximately 199 hectares, but additional equipment was also sent by the President,” he said.

The President also appreciated the local governments that have taken various preventive and anticipatory measures to prevent the spread of forest and land fires. This is because this year’s El Nino is predicted to be quite strong.

“So since the beginning of the year, we have been working together to anticipate and reduce behaviours or activities that could cause fires both in forests and on land,” he said.