BNPB Reports Sharp Drop in Active Forest, Land Fires

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that the area of forest and land fires that remained unextinguished across six priority provinces fell to 96.07 hectares as of Sept. 28, 2026, down significantly from 158.36 hectares a day earlier.

BNPB attributed the decline to intensified, integrated firefighting operations on the ground and in the air. Of the total 527.6 hectares of burned land, 431.53 hectares have been successfully extinguished.

“Based on updated data as of Sept. 28, 2026, the total burned area across the six priority provinces reached 527.6 hectares. With 431.53 hectares successfully extinguished, the remaining area still burning stands at 96.07 hectares,” Acting Head of BNPB’s Center for Disaster Data, Information and Communication Berton SP Panjaitan said in a statement in Jakarta on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

Compared with data from Sept. 27, the area still affected by active fires decreased by 62.29 hectares. The previous day, the area had been recorded at 158.36 hectares.

Central Kalimantan recorded the largest reduction, with the area still burning declining by 46.70 hectares. South Kalimantan followed with a decrease of 17.74 hectares, while Jambi and West Kalimantan recorded reductions of 1.50 hectares and 1 hectare, respectively.

However, not all regions recorded improvements. South Sumatra saw the area still burning increase by 4.15 hectares, while Riau posted an increase of 0.5 hectares.

“Of the total 431.53 hectares successfully extinguished, ground operations accounted for 369.03 hectares, while aerial operations handled 62.5 hectares,” Berton said.

To strengthen firefighting efforts, BNPB has deployed 59,035 task force personnel across the six priority provinces, consisting of:

• 14,837 personnel in Riau
• 14,575 in West Kalimantan
• 11,026 in South Sumatra
• 7,927 in South Kalimantan
• 5,984 in Jambi
• 4,686 in Central Kalimantan

“BNPB has also deployed 56 aircraft to support forest and land fire management. The fleet consists of 43 water-bombing aircraft and 13 aircraft used for patrol missions and Weather Modification Operations (OMC),” he said.

In addition to using fire pumps and portable water tanks, personnel are injecting water into peat layers to support ground-wetting operations. BNPB, together with the Indonesian Military (TNI), National Police (Polri), Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), and regional administrations, continues to strengthen both ground and aerial firefighting efforts.

“Firefighting operations continue to face challenges in the field, including thick haze, shifting wind directions, and limited water sources. As a result, ground-wetting operations and cloud-seeding efforts are being optimized to bring the fires under control,” Berton said. (Misni Parjiati)