Central Kalimantan (Kalteng) hotspot Jumps to 92 Spots, Forest and Forestry Fire Outages Strengthened

Blackouts in Tanjung Puting and Sampit

Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni continues monitoring control of forest and land fires in Central Kalimantan (Kalteng). After several days in the Tanjung Puting National Park area, he monitored the handling of fires in Sampit, East Kotawaringin Regency, on Saturday evening.

In Tanjung Puting, water bombing operations were carried out 16 times on Saturday. An additional two TNI helicopters and one Ministry of Forestry helicopter are also prepared to strengthen aerial firefighting.

This support complements ground handling by opening access to fire locations, constructing and utilizing drilled wells, as well as providing pumps and water distribution networks.

The joint personnel involved Manggala Agni, TNI, Polri, BPBD, volunteers, the Fire Concern Community, and village residents around the area. Control is carried out to protect Tanjung Puting, including the core zone and orangutan habitat.

On peatlands, treatment continues until the embers are completely extinguished. Fire can persist below the surface even though flames above ground are no longer visible. Because of this, officers continue to carry out ember combing, wetting and cooling to prevent the fire from re-igniting.

Weather Modifications to Deal with Smoke in South Sumatra (Sumsel)

In South Sumatra (Sumsel), the Ministry of Forestry together with BMKG and TNI carried out Weather Modification Operations or OMC on 16–25 October 2026. This operation supports handling forest and land fires as well as efforts to reduce smoke concentrations.

According to information from the Ministry of Forestry, dry ice was sown to help weaken the atmospheric inversion layer that traps smoke near the surface. If atmospheric conditions are favorable, the operation is combined with seeding sodium chloride or NaCl in clouds that have the potential to produce rain.