West Aceh Teams Battle Growing Nine-Hectare Peatland Fire

RRI.CO.ID, Aceh Barat — A multi-agency task force is battling to contain a rapidly spreading peatland fire in West Aceh Regency, Aceh Province, which has already consumed nine hectares of land across the villages of Suak Raya and Lapang.

Fire fighters are racing to stop the blaze from reaching Johan Pahlawan Subdistrict, but high winds and extreme heat are hampering firefighting efforts.

The fire has sent thick plumes of smoke into the sky, triggering health concerns among local residents as air quality deteriorates. According to official reports, the affected area includes six hectares in Suak Raya and an additional three hectares in the Ujong Beurasok hamlet of Lapang Village.

The combination of intense heat and a parched landscape has turned the area into a tinderbox, allowing flames to jump between patches of vegetation.

Speaking from the front lines in Meulaboh on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, the Acting Head of the West Aceh Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), Teuku Ronal Nehdiansyah, confirmed that teams are working around the clock to suppress the hot spots.

"We are continuing to make efforts to extinguish the land fires until now," Teuku Ronal told reporters, as quoted by Antara.

The situation remains critical as strong gusts of wind drive the fire toward new sectors. Teuku Ronal noted that the flames are currently spreading steadily, forcing personnel to deploy across multiple flanks to create firebreaks.

The intense glare of the sun has only added to the difficulty, exhausting crews who must work in extreme conditions to keep the fire from spiraling out of control.

"At this moment, the flames continue to spread slowly and have the potential to expand because the wind at the scene is very strong," he added.

The emergency response has become a collaborative effort, with BPBD Aceh Barat receiving vital support from the Indonesian Military, the National Police, and local volunteers.

This joint operation aims to create a unified perimeter to halt the fire's progression and mitigate the worsening haze that continues to plague the surrounding community. Authorities remain on high alert, monitoring wind patterns and heat signatures to stay ahead of the encroaching flames. ***