JAKARTA: Indonesia has brought forest and land fires across six priority provinces largely under control, with firefighting operations now concentrated on just 639.23 hectares, after nearly 130,000 hectares were affected.
President Prabowo Subianto said the remaining fire-affected area requiring firefighting operations had fallen to fewer than 1,000 hectares following extensive efforts to contain the fires despite challenging conditions on the ground.
“Without large-scale intervention, we would not have been able to handle this situation, especially as we prepare to undertake mitigation measures going forward,” he said in a video released by the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday.
Figures presented by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) at a limited Cabinet meeting chaired by Prabowo on Monday showed that firefighting operations had been completed across 129,260.36 hectares, leaving 639.23 hectares still requiring attention.
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Central Kalimantan accounted for the largest remaining affected area, at 524.69 hectares, including 513.89 hectares within Tanjung Puting National Park. This was followed by Jambi, with 81.50 hectares, and West Kalimantan, with 16.34 hectares.
According to BNPB, more than 60,177 personnel from various agencies were involved in the firefighting operations, supported by aerial water-bombing efforts. More than 80 per cent of newly burned areas were extinguished each day on average.
Looking beyond the immediate firefighting efforts, Prabowo reiterated his proposal to expand Indonesia’s forest police force to 70,000 personnel to strengthen forest protection, suggesting that the national police or military could assist with training.
Meanwhile, BNPB chief Suharyanto said Tanjung Puting National Park remained a major concern, with additional personnel and equipment deployed to tackle fires in the protected area.
“Central and South Kalimantan remain the most challenging provinces,” he said, adding that authorities were preparing further weather modification measures ahead of rainfall forecast from mid-October into November.
Central Kalimantan military commander Maj Gen Zainul Arifin said firefighting operations in Tanjung Puting National Park were particularly difficult because of scattered fire locations, swampy terrain and dangerous wildlife.
“The fire locations are widely scattered, and the terrain is swampy. There are also dangerous animals, including crocodiles and snakes, so we must take precautions to ensure the safety of our personnel,” he told the meeting.
Zainul also reported a shortage of portable water pumps, as vehicles could not reach some affected locations while existing equipment remained deployed for cooling operations elsewhere.