“Based on the Riau police chief’s reports, 46 suspects have been taken into police custody,” General Prabowo said in a press statement received from the National Police in Jakarta.
Police are currently investigating whether the wildfires that ravaged 280 hectares of land in Riau were set off deliberately, he informed.
According to General Prabowo, the forest and land fire task force is continuing efforts to tackle potential wildfire hotspots in Riau.
Water bombing and weather modification operations are also being conducted to expedite the task force’s fire-fighting efforts, he said while pledging to deploy water bombing helicopters.
In particular, the choppers will be deployed to certain difficult hilly areas in Rokan Hulu district, he added.
General Prabowo also reiterated the importance of pushing for multi-stakeholder collaboration in wildfire prevention and mitigation efforts in Riau, saying the province is struggling to extinguish land and forest fires.
As reported earlier, wildfires in Sumatra have not only ravaged Riau, but also several other provinces, including Jambi and North Sumatra.
In North Sumatra, wildfires have burned at least 422 hectares of land in Padang Lawas district during this year’s dry season.
According to the Ministry of Forestry, as of May 2025, wildfires have laid waste to 8,500 hectares of land across Indonesia, with the vast majority of land and forest fires caused by anthropogenic factors.
Israr Albar, head of the ministry’s forest fire mitigation division, said that nearly 100 percent of the wildfires have been caused by humans, and the affected land could expand amid extreme heat conditions.
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Translator: Fianda SR, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Primayanti
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