Prabowo Heads to Kalimantan to Lead Fire Operations
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- President Prabowo Subianto traveled to Kalimantan to personally oversee wildfire response efforts.
- He ordered military and police leaders to tackle fires in four provinces, assigning specific commanders to each region.
- Prabowo demanded swift and effective action to extinguish blazes and warned against legal violations.
President Prabowo Subianto personally inspected wildfire-affected areas in Kalimantan on August 22, 2026, to lead the response. Cabinet Secretary Lieutenant Colonel Teddy Indra Wijaya announced that Prabowo would directly oversee operations to combat the blazes across the region.
On Saturday morning, August 22, 2026, President Prabowo flew directly to Kalimantan to inspect conditions and lead response efforts against forest and land fires in Kalimantan.
On August 21, Prabowo had already issued orders and assigned tasks to military and police leadership to tackle forest fires in four affected provinces. This division of labor aimed to ensure ground operations were rapid, comprehensive, and simultaneous, according to Teddy.
Specific commanders were appointed to lead efforts in each province. General Agus Subiyanto and General Listyo Sigit Prabowo were tasked with fire management in West Kalimantan. In Central Kalimantan, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak and Police Deputy Chief Comr. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo took charge. Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Muhammad Ali and National Police Assistant Chief of Operations Com. Gen. Muhammad Fadil Imran were deployed to South Kalimantan. For East Kalimantan, Armed Forces Deputy Com. Gen. Tandyo Budi Revita and Mobile Brigade Corps Commander Comr. Gen. Ramdani Hidayat were appointed to direct containment efforts.
This division of labor was implemented to ensure ground operations proceed more rapidly, comprehensively, and simultaneously.
Prabowo stressed the need for swift and effective response to quickly extinguish the fires, allowing residents to resume their daily routines. He also demanded strict legal action against any violations found during the process.
The President also demanded that any legal violations found during the process be strictly addressed in accordance with applicable laws.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by Tempo. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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