Indonesia struggles to contain massive forest fires in Borneo and Sumatra

forest fires peatland fires toxic haze West Kalimantan disaster mitigation

Indonesia is struggling to contain massive forest and land fires on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Despite the deployment of 64 aircraft and 54,000 personnel since last month, authorities report significant difficulties in controlling the blazes.

Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya stated that all forces are working from the air and ground to extinguish the fires and protect the public. However, the vastness of the territory and the nature of peatlands present major obstacles. In West Kalimantan, disaster mitigation spokesman Daniel Sinyor noted that fires burning at varying depths within the peat soil and a lack of available water sources are hindering containment efforts.

The resulting toxic haze has blanketed parts of Indonesia and has also impacted air quality in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore. In response to the recurring nature of these disasters, indigenous and civil society groups in West Kalimantan have filed a class action lawsuit against the Indonesian government, including the president and the governor, alleging a failure to prevent the fires.

Entities

Borneo · Indonesia · Sumatra · Teddy Indra Wijaya · West Kalimantan

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 3 SOURCES] Water sources in fire-affected areas are decreasing or disappearing. myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com · thesun.my · www.vijesti.ba
[● 3 SOURCES] Fires burning at varying depths within peat soils are complicating containment efforts. myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com · thesun.my · www.vijesti.ba
[● 3 SOURCES] The government has deployed 64 aircraft and 54,000 personnel to Borneo and Sumatra since last month. myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com · thesun.my · www.vijesti.ba
[● 3 SOURCES] Toxic haze from the fires has affected parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com · thesun.my · www.vijesti.ba
[● 3 SOURCES] Indigenous and civil society groups in West Kalimantan filed a class action lawsuit against the Indonesian government. myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com · thesun.my · www.vijesti.ba
[● 3 SOURCES] The Indonesian government is deploying all available forces to extinguish fires and protect the public. myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com · thesun.my · www.vijesti.ba

Sources

Indonesia doing 'everything' but still struggling to curb fires [myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com]

about 3 hours ago

Indonesia struggles to curb forest fires as haze worsens regional air quality [thesun.my]

about 3 hours ago

Indonezija se teško bori s ogromnim šumskim požarima, dim zahvatio i Maleziju [www.vijesti.ba]

about 2 hours ago