Enviro News Asia, Jakarta — Indonesia recorded a sharp decline in high-confidence forest and land fire hotspots, with 317 detected nationwide on October 24, down by 1,019 from 1,336 a day earlier. The Forestry Ministry said firefighting operations and wildlife protection efforts would continue despite the improvement.
Data from the ministry’s SiPongi monitoring system, using NASA Terra/Aqua, SNPP and NOAA-20 satellite observations, showed significant declines in several priority provinces. Central Kalimantan’s hotspot count fell from 785 to 60, while West Kalimantan dropped from 184 to 55. Jambi recorded nine hotspots, down from 46, and South Kalimantan reported none, compared with 30 the previous day. Riau also remained free of high-confidence hotspots.
South Sumatra, however, recorded an increase from 58 to 102 hotspots, prompting authorities to maintain heightened vigilance and strengthen field operations.
The ministry stressed that lower satellite hotspot counts did not mean the threat had ended. Suspected hotspots still require ground verification, while firefighting teams continue suppression, wetting and cooling operations to ensure flames and underground embers are fully extinguished.
Manggala Agni forest-fire crews are working alongside the Indonesian Military, National Police, National Disaster Management Agency, Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, regional disaster management agencies, community fire brigades and private-sector partners. The government has also deployed 49 aircraft, including 32 for water bombing and 17 for patrols and weather modification operations.
In West Kalimantan, Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni led coordination efforts in Ketapang on October 23. The ministry prepared an additional 104 personnel to accelerate firefighting operations at priority locations.
Wildlife protection has also remained part of the response. On October 24, Raja Juli released two Bornean orangutans, Adil and Gigih, into their natural habitat in Ketapang Regency. The release was conducted with Karmele Llano Sanchez, chief executive of the Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia (YIARI), and representatives of the military and police.
Adil, a male orangutan aged over eight, and Gigih, aged over 10, had been rescued from an oil palm plantation in Laman Satong village on October 23. They were released after undergoing examinations and being deemed fit to return to the wild.
The minister emphasized that wildlife rescue and release must be accompanied by efforts to protect forest habitats so orangutans can survive in the wild without being displaced into plantations and other human-dominated areas.
According to the ministry, 51 orangutans were rescued from fire-affected areas in Ketapang and North Kayong between August 6 and mid-October 2026. The minister had also visited YIARI’s orangutan rehabilitation centre in Ketapang on October 23.
Meanwhile, the government is continuing weather modification operations over Sumatra and Kalimantan, using dry ice and sodium chloride (NaCl) cloud-seeding materials when cloud conditions are suitable. Indonesian Air Force C-130 Hercules and CN-295 aircraft are supporting the operations.
The ministry said field conditions, rather than satellite counts alone, would determine the effectiveness of the response. It urged residents and businesses not to clear land by burning and to report smoke, fires or suspected burning activities promptly. (*)
