Forest Fires in Central Kalimantan Scorch 4,115 Hectares, 14,000 Hotspots Detected

Kalimantan, MINA – Forest and land fires in Central Kalimantan have scorched 4,115 hectares of land since the beginning of 2026. As of August 19, regional authorities also recorded 14,621 hotspots and 1,543 fire incidents across various areas.

Ahmad Toyib, head of the Central Kalimantan Disaster Management and Fire Department, said on Thursday that three regions have become the main focus due to the high number and extent of fires: East Kotawaringin Regency, Palangka Raya City, and Pulang Pisau Regency.

To handle the fires, a total of 10,700 joint personnel from BPBD, TNI-Polri, Manggala Agni, and volunteers have been deployed gradually to several locations. However, firefighting efforts face challenges as rain has not fallen for nearly a month and water availability at several points has become increasingly limited.

Peatland conditions also pose an additional challenge. Aerial teams are conducting water bombing operations supported by BNPB, followed by ground teams carrying out cooling and wetting processes to prevent fires from reigniting. Three cloud seeding operations have also been conducted since May through collaboration between BMKG and BNPB, though these have been temporarily suspended due to difficulty finding sufficient cloud growth for seeding.

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BMKG previously warned that the peak of the dry season in August coincides with increased fire risks across most of Kalimantan. The government has also strengthened preparedness for the peak fire risk period in August-September, including through ground operations, hotspot monitoring, and aerial support.[]

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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