Firefighters from Manggala Agni or “Commander of Fire” brigade of the district’s forestry office, local police, military, and other government agencies persisted with efforts to douse the wildfires, an official said.
Despite the deployment of ground and air resources, fires could be put out on just 0.6 ha of the total 31 ha of affected land, head of the Kalimantan IX/Singkawang Manggala Agni operation, Yuyu Wahyudin, said.
As a result, on the ground, the area resembled a “sea of fire” with thick haze blanketing severely affected areas, he informed, adding that firefighters were finding it difficult to quench the fires.
Thick smog and fluctuating airflows hampered firefighters’ efforts to put out the forest and land fires that have engulfed the area for the past few days, he added.
Meanwhile, to prevent the spread of the wildfires to other areas, the city government is constructing firebreaks and digging wells to supply water for firefighting efforts, Singkawang Mayor Tjhai Chui Mie said.
The mayor also urged residents to actively participate in the government’s fire prevention and mitigation efforts by avoiding burning materials that could trigger wildfires.
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: Narwati, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Primayanti
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