August 22, 2026 | 08:25 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto said his administration was working to contain forest and land fires in Indonesia, particularly by preventing existing fires from spreading and stopping new hotspots from emerging in West and Central Kalimantan.
The government is also working to meet the needs of personnel deployed to fight the fires, including those from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and the Forestry Ministry's Manggala Agni firefighting brigade.
"I have seen the situation and we are monitoring it closely. We are taking mitigation measures. The important thing is to immediately stop the fires from spreading and prevent new hotspots. Thankfully, this is continuing. All officials are reporting their needs, and we are working to meet them," Prabowo said Saturday after chairing a coordination meeting on forest and land fire management at Tjilik Riwut Airport in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan.
"Every day, we are adding helicopters, equipment, water pumps, drilling machines and all the necessary supplies."
"I hope we can bring the situation under control soon," he added.
Prabowo expressed confidence that the government could contain the current fires, noting that Indonesia had dealt with more severe forest and land fires in the past.
"If we look at history, we have managed to overcome situations that were much more severe several years ago. So, I believe we will overcome this soon," he said.
Palangka Raya was the second stop on Prabowo's working visit to inspect fire management efforts in West and Central Kalimantan on Saturday. He chaired separate coordination meetings in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, and Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan.
State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi, who accompanied Prabowo and attended both meetings, said the president had received reports from various agencies on the fire response.
"Several measures were also decided directly by the President, including additional equipment, starting with helicopters for water bombing, water pumps, drilling equipment for wells, and additional personnel," Prasetyo said.
Prabowo also inspected fire-affected areas directly, including Limbung Village in Kubu Raya Regency, West Kalimantan.
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