513.89 Hectares Burning in Tanjung Puting
A new forest and land fire has been found in Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan. Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) recorded 513.89 hectares burning in the orangutan conservation area.
BNPB chief Suharyanto said the hotspots are in Kotawaringin Barat and Seruyan regencies. Although the area is mineral soil rather than peatland, the fire is a major concern because it sits inside a protected conservation zone.
639.23 Hectares Across Six Provinces Still Being Handled
In total, 639.23 hectares across six priority provinces are still burning and being handled by field task forces: Central Kalimantan, South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, Jambi, West Kalimantan, and Riau.
Cumulatively, 129,899.59 hectares have burned across the six provinces, of which 129,260.36 hectares have been extinguished. Suharyanto reported the figures to President Prabowo Subianto at a limited cabinet meeting at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Monday (10/12/2026).
Thick Smoke Grounds Water Bombing
Aerial firefighting is still far from optimal. Thick haze has made visibility unsafe for flights, hampering helicopter water-bombing and weather-modification operations in Central Kalimantan.
Firefighters are relying mostly on ground operations. Joint teams of soldiers, police, and volunteers keep battling the blazes, covering up to 692 hectares per day. The Central Kalimantan military commander is leading field operations, backed by extra personnel and equipment plus weather coordination with the BMKG meteorology agency.
Prabowo Orders All-Out Response
President Prabowo admitted he was surprised only 639 hectares remained burning. He had assumed tens of thousands of hectares were still ablaze as in previous weeks.
As an immediate step, Prabowo ordered 200 water pumps shipped from Java and Rp2 billion in funding for drilling 200 water points. He stressed that the fires must be fought on a massive scale involving all agencies, alongside long-term early prevention including more forest rangers.
