Forest fires spread across six Indonesian provinces

Indonesia is grappling with ongoing forest and land fires (karhutla) that have spread across at least six provinces in recent days. The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) confirmed that the blazes are not confined to Kalimantan but are also affecting Sumatra and Java.

In Bangka Belitung province, fires occurred in Belitung Timur district on Thursday, burning 3.8 hectares of land across several villages. Local disaster management authorities deployed personnel and equipment, successfully extinguishing the fires on the same day. No casualties were reported, and monitoring is in place to prevent recurrence.

East Java province has also seen significant activity. On Wednesday, fires consumed 20 hectares of forest in Bondowoso district. Firefighting efforts by provincial and district disaster management bodies contained the blaze by Thursday evening. Additionally, on the same day, 3 hectares of dry vegetation burned in Blitar district, with the cause under investigation. Fires were also reported in Magetan, burning 8 hectares of community forest land since Wednesday, which were also extinguished by Thursday.

Berton SP Panjaitan, acting head of BNPB's Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, stated that efforts are ongoing to combat the fires. While no fatalities have been reported, the widespread nature of the blazes highlights the persistent challenge of land and forest fires in the archipelago.