Indonesia Battles Spreading Wildfires Amid Dry Season

Indonesia is intensifying its battle against a surge of wildfires across the archipelago, deploying significant resources including helicopters and hundreds of firefighters and disaster personnel. The blazes are particularly concerning in East Java's Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park and peatlands in Sumatra, exacerbated by an unusually dry season.

The most significant fire is raging within Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java, where approximately 743 hectares (1,836 acres) have already been burned. Officials attribute the heightened risk to dry weather and strengthening El Nino conditions, which are intensifying during the peak dry season. The fire has consumed large swathes of dry grassland and vegetation, reaching the popular Penanjakan viewpoint and damaging protected edelweiss flowers. Fortunately, no injuries or evacuations have been reported.

Authorities have closed the national park to visitors indefinitely while hundreds of firefighters, soldiers, police officers, park rangers, and volunteers work to contain the inferno. At least three helicopters are conducting water-bombing operations over inaccessible hotspots, while ground crews focus on manual firefighting, cooling efforts, patrols, and constructing firebreaks. Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni visited the park, urging the public to avoid activities that could spark new fires, such as discarding cigarette butts or using fire for land clearing.

Beyond East Java, several other wildfires have erupted across Indonesia. In Jambi province on Sumatra island, over 50 hectares (124 acres) of peatland have burned, causing choking haze and raising air quality concerns. The fire in Sungai Gelam village, Muaro Jambi district, has destroyed hectares of oil palm plantations. Deep peat soil, limited water, difficult access, and strong winds are complicating firefighting efforts, despite aerial support. Indonesia's Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency predicts August and September will be critical months due to dry vegetation and strong winds, which facilitate rapid fire spread. Such fires, often started illegally for land clearing, periodically blanket Southeast Asia in hazardous smoke.

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We continue to coordinate efforts to address and anticipate forest and land fires.