RRI.CO.ID, Riau - Efforts to extinguish forest and land fires (karhutla) in Riau Province are being carried out intensively. The joint team, consisting of the Ministry of Forestry, National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG), Indonesian Military (TNI), Indonesian Police (POLRI), and related parties, prioritize localizing the fire to prevent its spread and to mitigate the potential smoke disaster that could affect residential areas.

A total of 160 forest fire control personnel were deployed in the extinguishing operation, while 80 other personnel were on standby for patrol and early detection of new fire spots. The fire hotspots are spread across several districts such as Kampar, Bengkalis, Siak, and Pelalawan, with various land statuses, including Conversion Production Forests, Conservation Areas, and other use areas.

Based on the press release received by RRI Voice of Indonesia on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, the indications of the cause of the fire have many factors. In several locations, it is suspected to originate from land clearing activities with uncontrolled burning of vegetation remnants due to strong winds.

Some locations are near community and company oil palm plantations as well as close to residential housing areas. The rainy conditions for almost 20 days, limited water sources, and dry vegetation fuel, especially in peatland with groundwater levels around minus 90 cm, pose the main challenges for extinguishing the fire.

The Head of the Sumatra Forest Fire Control Agency, Ferdian Kristanto, emphasized that the main strategy at this time is to contain the movement of the fire to prevent it from spreading to a larger area. According to him, the combination of dry weather, strong winds, and fuel makes the field situation very challenging, so the deployment of personnel and cross-regional support is carried out in a measured manner.

He added that supporting Weather Modification Operations is an important step to help accelerate handling, especially in areas with water source difficulties. The public is also urged not to conduct land burning in any form because the current conditions are very prone to triggering large fires.

The Riau Provincial Government has declared a Forest Fire Emergency Alert Status. As part of strengthening the response, BNPB thru the Riau Provincial BPBD has conducted a Weather Modification Operation using a Cessna Grand Caravan C208 aircraft, which dispersed 1 ton of salt around Siak and Pekanbaru on Monday, February 16, 2026.

The government hopes that the control of forest and land fires can be optimal so that the Riau region remains smoke-free ahead of the month of Ramadan and community activities can proceed safely and healthily.