Indonesia wildfire burns homes, displaces hundreds

A forest fire on Indonesia's Sumatra island, driven by El Niño, has destroyed nearly 300 homes, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate, according to an official. Residents of the village in Bangka Belitung province first spotted the fire on Saturday and attempted to extinguish it using portable water pumps. However, the fire, which originated in peatland, continued to smolder beneath the surface.

When the wind shifted direction, the blaze quickly spread towards the settlement. Nearly 1,000 people fled the village, with many losing their homes. One resident, Leni, 55, said, "My house is gone... I panicked and didn't have the time to grab anything." Another survivor, Haryanti, 50, added, "None of my belongings survived... only the clothes on my back."

The village was built on formerly protected peatland that was converted into a housing complex last year. Indonesia typically experiences wildfires during the dry season, but this year's blazes have been more intense due to the El Niño weather phenomenon, which is expected to be one of the strongest in four decades. Moreover, slash-and-burn land clearances have altered the naturally fire-resistant landscape of Sumatra and Borneo islands, exacerbating the situation.

The fires have led to severe haze locally, resulting in tens of thousands of respiratory illnesses, and have caused air pollution spikes in Singapore and Malaysia. In Borneo, thick smoke has grounded water-bombing aircraft. President Prabowo Subianto has ordered the government to mobilize maximum efforts to combat the wildfires that have been raging for three months in some areas.

The cabinet secretary, Teddy Indra Wijaya, reported that over 60,000 personnel have been deployed on the ground.