Indonesia fights wildfires in Sulawesi, Papua and Bromo region
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that joint emergency teams extinguished simultaneous land and forest fires in North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and Southwest Papua between 5‑6 August. The fires burned roughly 3.5 ha in Bolaang Mongondow, 55 ha in Tana Toraja, 6 ha in East Kolaka and 10 ha in Sorong, with a 5‑ha landfill blaze also contained. BNPB head Abdul Muhari said, "Joint teams in the regions responded quickly to contain and extinguish the fires on the same day."
In Java, the Bromo‑Tengger‑Semeru National Park fire expanded to between 125 ha and 176 ha, prompting a multi‑agency response that included ground crews, firebreaks, water‑bombing helicopters, drones and planned cloud‑seeding. Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa inspected the effort, noting the use of additional BNPB helicopters and drone surveillance. The park’s management, Balai Besar Taman Nasional Bromo Tengger Semeru (TNBTS), suspects the blaze originated from a human‑made fire in the traditional Blok Bantengan trail.
On Lombok’s Rinjani, a joint team from the Rinjani National Park authority, local disaster agency (BPBD) and volunteers contained a land fire of about 30 ha in the Sembalun area by early morning on 8 August. The fire was fully controlled and monitoring continues to prevent re‑ignition.
Entities: Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB) · Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah Lumajang · Balai Besar TNBTS · Balai Besar Taman Nasional Bromo Tengger Semeru (TNBTS) · Balai Taman Nasional Gunung Rinjani · B‑29 tourism zone · Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa · Is Nugroho · Khofifah Indar Parawansa · Mount Bromo · Mount Rinjani National Park · National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB)
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The fire in North Sulawesi burned 3.5 hectares. (BNPB report)
- [● 2 SOURCES] The Bromo wildfire spread to approximately 170‑176 hectares by 7‑8 August 2026. (Local officials and BNPB)
- [● 2 SOURCES] BNPB deployed two water‑bombing helicopters for the Bromo fire, adding a second unit from Banjarmasin. (BNPB and Governor Khofifah)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] BNPB confirmed that fires in North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and Southwest Papua were contained by 6 August 2026. (BNPB statement)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The fire in Southeast Sulawesi burned around 6 hectares. (BNPB report)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Firebreaks were created near Lumajang to stop the Bromo fire, and a separate land fire in Sembalun Rinjani affected about 30 hectares. (Local disaster agencies)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The fire in Southwest Papua burned about 10 hectares and a nearby landfill fire affected 5 hectares. (BNPB report)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The fire in South Sulawesi burned about 55 hectares. (BNPB report)