Head of the BNPB’s Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, Abdul Muhari, on Monday said that forest and land fires have overtaken hydrometeorological disasters, such as floods, which were dominant in the previous month.
According to Muhari, Riau and West Kalimantan provinces recorded the highest number of forest and land fire incidents.
“This has become a serious concern for the central government. The President (Prabowo Subianto) has held a limited meeting with several ministries to accelerate forest and land fire handling,” he said during a virtual BNPB disaster briefing.
This year’s forest and land fire mitigation effort is focused on several provinces, namely Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh, he added.
“This is due to the increased vulnerability to forest and land fires in these provinces, as the dry season began in mid-May (2025) to July, peaking in August and early September,” he said.
According to data from the Ministry of Forestry, fires burned around 8,955 hectares of land in the period from January to August 1, 2025, with peatlands accounting for over 80.15 percent of the affected area.
Muhari said that West Kalimantan province recorded the highest number of fires with 1,149 hectares of land burned, followed by Riau province with approximately 751 hectares, North Sumatra with 309 hectares, West Sumatra with 511 hectares, Central Kalimantan with 146 hectares, Jambi with 43 hectares, and South Sumatra with 43 hectares.
Therefore, he assured that his agency will continue strengthening coordination with local governments, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Forestry, and the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) and National Police, to deploy ground and aerial firefighting task force teams, including logistical support for firefighting.
To monitor and locate operational points, the BNPB has so far deployed two AS365N3 patrol helicopters and a Bell 206, which have recorded a total flight time of 251 hours and 54 minutes.
Five Sikorsky Blackhawk UH60 water-bombing helicopters, three Mi-8 AMTs, and a Kamov have also been sent to extinguish fires.
“Since April, we have carried out 241 hours and 40 minutes of water-bombing flight time. However, we cannot solely rely on extinguishing fires. Prevention through education and law enforcement is also crucial,” he emphasized.
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Translator: M. Riezko Bima, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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