Prabowo to Inspect Forest Fire Response in Sumatra, Starting in Riau
Palace confirms Prabowo will inspect forest fire response in Sumatra, starting in Riau, as fires spread across parts of the region.
President Prabowo Subianto will travel to Sumatra to assess the government's response to forest and land fires, beginning in Riau before heading to Jambi and South Sumatra, according to State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi. Prabowo is set to continue his field visits after inspecting the response in West and Central Kalimantan recently.
The President's visit aims to evaluate efforts to contain the fires and safeguard communities impacted by wildfires and haze. Authorities have deployed additional water-bombing aircraft, reinforced ground teams from the Indonesian Military, National Police, and Manggala Agni, and prepared health facilities for affected residents. Prabowo has also ordered law enforcement agencies to take action against companies whose concession areas have burned or failed to prevent fires.
As of now, the Forestry Ministry's SiPongi monitoring system has recorded 2,894 hotspots across 10 Sumatra provinces, with South Sumatra accounting for the most (1,410 hotspots), followed by Riau (480) and Jambi (425). These 10 provinces have collectively reported a combined 36,047.64 hectares of burned land in 2026.
Firefighting efforts involve ground operations, patrols, water bombing, weather modification, and monitoring to prevent new fires from emerging. Haze is also adding to public health concerns, with cities like Pekanbaru, Jambi, and Palembang registering 'very unhealthy' air quality levels. The government is prioritizing the extinguishing of existing fires, preventing new hotspots, and protecting residents from the effects of wildfire smoke.
Written by urgent.news from Tempo.co English's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
