West Aceh Forest Fires Expand to 34.1 Hectares Despite Ongoing Response

RRI.CO.ID, Meulaboh - Forest and land fires (karhutla) across West Aceh Regency, Aceh Province, continued to intensify through Thursday afternoon, with total scorched land expanding sharply to 34.1 hectares, disaster management officials confirmed.

The planetary footprint of the fires grew within a matter of hours on Thursday, June 11, 2026. Ground monitoring units noted that the total affected area had stood at 31.1 hectares on Thursday morning before strong winds and persistent heat caused the flames to leap across parched trenches.

"Until this afternoon, the total area affected by forest and land fires has reached 34.1 hectares. The worst-hit area is in Bubon Subdistrict, with a total of 25 hectares of burned land," Acting Head of the West Aceh Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Teuku Ronal, told reporters in Meulaboh on Thursday, June 11, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

Ronal detailed that the largest single hotspot cluster is concentrated in Bubon Subdistrict, followed by spreading outbreaks across Samatiga, Meureubo, Johan Pahlawan, and Arongan Lambalek Subdistricts.

According to official BPBD data, the geographical distribution of the destruction is broken down across five subdistricts. In Bubon Subdistrict, 25 hectares of land have been scorched, which is split between Beurawang Village at 15 hectares and Kuta Padang Layung Village at 10 hectares.

Samatiga Subdistrict has 4 hectares of active fires concentrated in Cot Seumeureung Village. In Meureubo Subdistrict, the fire spans 2.6 hectares across two distinct hotspots in Ujong Tanoh Darat Village, measuring 1.6 hectares and 1.0 hectare respectively.

Johan Pahlawan Subdistrict has 1.5 hectares burning, affecting 1.0 hectare in Lapang Village and 0.5 hectares in Seuneubok Village. Finally, in Arongan Lambalek District, a 1.0-hectare area is currently engulfed in Gunong Pulo Village.

Disaster officials first detected the creeping anomalies in late May using a combination of the Lancang Kuning satellite tracking app, the Ministry of Environment's SiPongi+ hotspot matrix, and immediate smoke reports submitted by local farmers.

In response to the expanding emergency, a massive multi-agency taskforce has launched synchronized ground and aerial assaults to suppress the subterranean peat fires. Ground containment crews have been battling the blazes continuously since May 31, 2026.

On Thursday, ground operations focused heavily on monitoring Bubon Subdistrict while executing intensive suppression maneuvers in Samatiga’s Cot Seumeureung Village.

To disrupt the fire's progression in remote, roadless peat corridors, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) initiated an intensive Weather Modification Operation (OMC) from June 3 to 10, 2026, to trigger artificial rainfall over the province.

This aerial campaign was reinforced on June 7 by the deployment of specialized BNPB water-bombing helicopters, which continue to drop thousands of liters of water daily onto active fire walls.

The joint emergency response unites a diverse coalition of personnel, drawing forces from the West Aceh BPBD, the local military command (Kodim Aceh Barat), the West Aceh Police (Polres), the Woyla Fire Station, subdistrict police and military stations, the Regional Forest Management Unit (KPH) IV, the Firefighting Student Activity Unit of Teuku Umar University (UKM PK UTU), and local civilian volunteer brigades.

"The joint team is ensured to remain on standby at the locations until all hotspots are completely extinguished," Ronal concluded, emphasizing that personnel will remain stationed at the fire perimeters until the subterranean smoldering is completely neutralized. ***