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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Disasters & Emergencies

Wildfires threaten Indonesia as government deploys 53 aircraft

From Republika · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • Indonesia recorded 818 high-confidence fire hotspots nationwide on Sept. 4, with the largest concentrations in Central Kalimantan, South Sumatra and West Kalimantan.
  • The government has deployed 53 aircraft for aerial patrols, weather modification support and water bombing operations.
  • Authorities stress that satellite-detected hotspots require ground verification, while rain in parts of West Kalimantan has aided firefighting and cooling efforts.

Indonesia is deploying 53 aircraft as authorities intensify efforts to control forest and land fires in six priority provinces. The operation continues even as rain has reached parts of West Kalimantan, because hundreds of high-confidence hotspots remain visible.

Forestry Ministry spokesman Ristianto Pribadi said NASA Terra and Aqua, Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 satellite data detected 818 high-confidence hotspots nationwide at 9:15 p.m. local time on Sept. 4, 2026. Central Kalimantan recorded the most, with 252, followed by South Sumatra with 165 and West Kalimantan with 124. Jambi recorded 14, Riau 13 and South Kalimantan four.

The ministry stressed that a hotspot does not automatically represent a single fire. It indicates a surface-temperature anomaly detected by satellite, and one fire can appear as several hotspots. Authorities therefore must verify each indication on the ground and through direct field monitoring before setting priorities.

Attention in the current operation is focused mainly on Central Kalimantan, South Sumatra and West Kalimantan because the three provinces recorded the highest number of high-confidence hotspots among the six priority provinces.

· Ristianto PribadiThe Forestry Ministry spokesman identified the main focus areas for the wildfire response.

The response involves the military, police, the national disaster agency, the meteorological agency, regional disaster agencies, local governments, communities and businesses. Operations include patrols, ground checks, ground firefighting, firebreaks, mop-up work, cooling and monitoring to prevent fires from reigniting.

Of the 53 aircraft, 19 will conduct aerial patrols and support weather modification operations. The other 34 will carry out water bombing, particularly in areas difficult to reach by land. The aircraft deployment will change according to conditions on the ground, while weather modification efforts will proceed where meteorological conditions allow.

Rainfall has brought a positive development in West Kalimantan. Moderate to heavy rain has helped wet the land and support firefighting and cooling operations.

Fifty-three aircraft have been deployed to accelerate wildfire control, especially in areas that are difficult to reach through ground operations.

· Ristianto PribadiHe explained the purpose of the government’s aerial deployment.
About this summary

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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