BNPB Says 458 Hectares Still Burning in Indonesia’s New Capital

A fire covering 458 hectares remained unextinguished in the area of Indonesia’s planned new capital, Nusantara, in East Kalimantan, BNPB chief Suharyanto said.

Speaking after a meeting in Jakarta on Monday, Suharyanto said fires had burned about 72,008 hectares of forest and land overall. Authorities had extinguished 71,274.29 hectares, leaving 734.81 hectares still burning as of the previous day.

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The fires near IKN must also be watched closely. We may need to deploy more assets so they do not reach the core zone.

President Prabowo Subianto has ordered Suharyanto to pay close attention to fires surrounding Nusantara and prevent them from reaching the capital’s vital core zone. “The fires near IKN must also be watched closely. We may need to deploy more assets so they do not reach the core zone,” Prabowo said.

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The fires are still burning in the IKN area, covering 458 hectares, and are still being handled.

The firefighting effort is also being complicated by volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau. Suharyanto said the ash had prevented BNPB and the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency from flying aircraft for weather modification operations.

If conditions remain unsuitable over Jakarta, Banten, Lampung and South Sumatra, authorities plan to conduct the operation from Semarang in Central Java. The aim is to bring rain that can help wash the ash from the air.

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If the areas of Jakarta, Banten, Lampung and South Sumatra cannot be opened, we will conduct the weather modification operation from Central Java, from Semarang.