Indonesia ramps up fire warnings and response as karhutla spread during dry season

Across Indonesia, forest and land fires (karhutla) have surged during an unusually long and dry season. Local authorities in Bengkulu banned open‑air waste burning after a school fire was linked to stray sparks. In Palangka Raya, the disaster agency recorded 12 fire incidents covering 4.56 ha on 24 July, while the national agency BNPB noted karhutla as the most frequent disaster in its 23‑24 July report, with hotspots in Sorong, Ponorogo, Blora and Klaten, totaling dozens of hectares.

In Central Kalimantan, police named eight landowners as suspects for deliberate land‑clearing burns in Tumbang Nusa. Regional governments from Purworejo and Payakumbuh held emergency fire‑alert drills, warning residents to keep stoves off and report sparks. The DPD senator Agustin Teras Narang urged greater central government support, citing 472 incidents in Kalimantan Tengah that have burned over 456 ha of peatland. The national disaster agency and provincial teams have deployed water‑bombing helicopters and intensified ground patrols. Ministry of Environment officials stressed the need to rewet peat soils to curb future fires.