Govt Implements Five Measures to Accelerate Wildfire Response

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has taken several measures to accelerate the response to forest and land fires in parts of Kalimantan. He made the decisions after chairing a coordination meeting on wildfire management in the region on Saturday, August 22, 2026.

The central government and relevant agencies subsequently implemented five measures to strengthen firefighting efforts on the ground. The following are the five policies adopted by President Prabowo to accelerate wildfire response:

1. Deploy an Additional 1,500 Indonesian Military Personnel

The government is increasing personnel strength by deploying three Indonesian Military battalions, consisting of 1,500 soldiers from outside Kalimantan. The deployment began on Saturday and continued through Sunday morning, August 23, 2026. The personnel will join teams already operating in the affected areas.

2. Maximize Ground Firefighting

Ground operations have been reinforced by deploying personnel to conduct manual firefighting, particularly at hotspots located in hard-to-reach areas.

3. Add Six Water-Bombing Helicopters

The government is adding six large helicopters to support aerial firefighting operations. These aircraft are equipped with water-bombing capabilities to extinguish fires across wide areas.

4. Increase Weather Modification Operations

President Prabowo has also decided to expand Weather Modification Operations (OMC) in Kalimantan. The measure utilizes rain clouds detected in West Kalimantan to accelerate fire suppression.

5. Strengthen Infrastructure on Peatlands

Special measures are being implemented for peatland areas, where fires can persist beneath the surface. The government is increasing the number of water pumps and water wells to saturate the land and suppress underground hotspots.

In addition to these five measures, President Prabowo emphasized the importance of strict enforcement by local administrations. Regional administrations are urged to strengthen preventive efforts to ensure forest and land fires do not recur.

After leading the coordination meeting, President Prabowo conducted a field visit to assess wildfire conditions in Limbung Village, Sungai Raya, Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan. The visit aimed to observe peatland areas still under fire management and suppression efforts. (Gusti Panji)