Jakarta (ANTARA) – President Prabowo Subianto has instructed the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) to prepare a special team to reach forest and land fire locations in South Sumatra that are difficult for ground personnel to access.
The president conveyed this directive while chairing a coordination meeting on fire management in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Monday.
“I would like to ask the TNI Commander, can we conduct a trial deployment of Team Alfa here as well?” Prabowo said, referring to a specialized military tactical unit.
To strengthen suppression efforts, Prabowo also requested additional water-bombing helicopters for South Sumatra, instructing that available TNI helicopters be deployed immediately to assist with firefighting.
In addition to aerial operations, the government is preparing ground support, including 20 excavators to reinforce canals, alongside 500 pump units and hoses to supply water from wells.
Prabowo said that all support must be directed toward accelerating suppression efforts in areas that are still burning.
He also urged field personnel to report any obstacles immediately so the government can provide additional assistance swiftly.
“Let’s strive to quickly put out the 1,900 hectares currently on fire,” Prabowo said.
Additionally, TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto affirmed his readiness to prepare the team. He noted that it could include free-fall, paramotor, and fast-roping units to reach terrain inaccessible to ground forces.
Indonesia is ramping up efforts to battle wildfires in several regions amid the strong El Niño phenomenon. The National Agency for Disaster Countermeasures (BNPB) predicts that the risk of forest and land fires will peak between August and September 2026.
The government has designated six provinces as priorities in firefighting operations, such as West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Riau, South Sumatra, and Jambi.
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Translator: Maria Cicilia, Raka Adji
Editor: Bayu Prasetyo
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