Govt accelerates firefighting operations across 107,000 ha of land

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3 hours ago

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian government has launched a massive aerial and ground firefighting operation to combat severe forest and land fires that have burned over 107,000 hectares of land across the archipelago.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Djamari Chaniago stated that the blazes have been exacerbated by a prolonged drought driven by a strong El Niño weather pattern.

“We are facing a strong El Niño, which has been in effect and will continue until early September or early October,” Djamari said here on Monday.

The affected 107,000 hectares span both fire-prone and non-prone regions. However, suppression efforts are heavily focused on six key high-risk provinces: Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and Riau.

To contain the spreading flames, authorities have mobilized a substantial aerial fleet alongside tactical ground support.

“We have deployed around 43 helicopters to date, with an additional 10 to 15 fixed-wing aircraft available as needed,” Djamari noted.

On the ground, joint firefighting personnel are utilizing flexible temporary water storage tanks to secure water supplies in remote locations before distributing them to active fire zones.

Djamari emphasized that central authorities are strengthening coordination with regional governments, military, police, and local disaster mitigation agencies to ensure optimal containment—expressing optimism that active hotspots will be extinguished swiftly.