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Indonesian Regions Engulfed by Forest Fires, One Resident Dies
🇮🇩 Indonesia /Environment & Climate

Indonesian Regions Engulfed by Forest Fires, One Resident Dies

From CNN Indonesia · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Several regions in Indonesia are battling severe forest and land fires (karhutla) amid the dry season and El Niño, with the Bromo Tengger National Park heavily affected.
  • Access to Bromo National Park has been completely closed due to the fires, which are suspected to have started from visitors making campfires.
  • In Ketapang, West Kalimantan, one person died and an elderly resident was injured due to the fires and resulting smoke, with the smoke potentially spreading to neighboring Malaysia.

Indonesia is grappling with widespread forest and land fires (karhutla) across several regions as the dry season and El Niño conditions persist into early August 2026.

The Bromo Tengger National Park in East Java has been particularly hard-hit, with fires burning for over a week and expanding into surrounding areas. As of August 7, the burned area reached 176 hectares and is expected to grow. Fire hotspots are currently located near Bukit B29, while fires in other areas have been reported as extinguished, though smoke remains visible. The authorities have completely closed all tourist access to the park from various entry points in Probolinggo, Pasuruan, Malang, and Lumajang.

There's a possibility that people passing through, especially during the cold nights, made fires and perhaps forgot or something happened, and with this weather, it became a trigger for the fire, which is what we suspect so far.

— Rudijanta Tjahja NugrahaHead of BB TNBTS, explaining the suspected cause of the fires in Bromo National Park.

Officials suspect the fires originated from visitors creating campfires for warmth, which may not have been fully extinguished and were fanned by the wind. "There's a possibility that people passing through, especially during the cold nights, made fires and perhaps forgot or something happened, and with this weather, it became a trigger for the fire, which is what we suspect so far," said Rudijanta Tjahja Nugraha, head of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Center (BB TNBTS).

Meanwhile, in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, the fires have led to a fatality. A 26-year-old man, Taufik Hidayat, reportedly died after losing consciousness due to smoke inhalation while trying to return home, with his body subsequently burning. An elderly resident also suffered burns and is receiving medical treatment. The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has warned that the smoke from West Kalimantan's fires could spread to neighboring Malaysia.

Possibly due to lack of oxygen, the victim fainted, and then there were fires on the right and left sides of the road, so the victim died while being burned.

— Yunifar PurwantoroHead of the Ketapang District Disaster Management Agency, describing the death of a victim in West Kalimantan.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNN Indonesia in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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