Politics · Indonesia · 4 hrs ago
Prabowo Calls for Stronger Response to Indonesia’s Forest Fires
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto chaired a meeting on forest and land fires on Monday night, October 12.
The meeting was held from Merdeka Palace in Jakarta and included senior officials and regional leaders.
About 639 hectares were still being extinguished across the six provinces worst affected by the fires.
The response is focused on Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra.
More than 60,177 personnel are supporting ground operations, while aircraft are dropping water on fires in some areas.
Officials said conditions had improved in four other provinces, and weather-modification efforts are being used to make the most of rain clouds.
Prabowo called for all available resources to be used to speed up fire suppression and stop fires from spreading, as the rainy season is expected to become more widespread from mid- to late October.
President Prabowo Subianto called for Indonesia to strengthen its response to forest and land fires and deploy all resources to contain them.
At a meeting on 12 October, officials reported about 639 hectares still being extinguished across the six worst-affected provinces.
Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra were the main areas of focus.
More than 60,177 joint personnel were supporting ground operations, which were extinguishing an average of more than 80% of newly burned land each day.
Aerial water bombing and weather modification operations were also continuing.
- Who
- President Prabowo Subianto led the meeting. Government officials and emergency response leaders also took part.
- What
- He called for a stronger response to forest and land fires, with all resources deployed to speed up extinguishing and prevent fires from spreading.
- When
- Monday night, 12 October 2026.
- Where
- The meeting was held in hybrid format from Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.
- Why
- Fires were still being extinguished in six badly affected provinces, with Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra the main focus.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Prabowo led a hybrid meeting on forest and land fires from Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.
The start of the rainy season was forecast to become more widespread.
- Remaining area being extinguished
- About 639 hectares across six provinces
- Main areas of focus
- Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra
- Ground-operation personnel
- More than 60,177 joint personnel
- Ground-operation success rate
- An average of more than 80% of newly burned land each day
- Improving conditions
- Riau, West Kalimantan, Jambi and South Kalimantan
What people are saying
The President asked that efforts to handle forest and land fires be strengthened and all resources deployed optimally to speed up extinguishing and prevent the fires from spreading.
In the six provinces most affected by forest and land fires, about 639 hectares of land are still in the process of being extinguished.










