Thousands of personnel and dozens of aircraft battle fires as haze persists regionally.
Indonesia has mobilized major national and international resources against severe forest and land fires, but difficult peat conditions, shrinking water sources, and the scale of the affected territory continue to hinder containment efforts.
54,000 Personnel Join Firefighting Effort
Indonesia has deployed 64 aircraft and about 54,000 personnel across Borneo and Sumatra since August to fight widespread forest and land fires. Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said authorities were using both aerial and ground operations to extinguish fires, reduce smoke, and protect communities. However, he acknowledged that the enormous territory and difficult peatland conditions were creating serious obstacles for firefighting teams.
Peat Fires and Water Shortages Slow Operations
In West Kalimantan, one of the areas most severely affected, disaster agency spokesman Daniel Sinyor said fires burning at different depths inside peat soil were difficult to extinguish completely. Ground crews were also struggling with limited water supplies, as available sources can decrease or disappear in fire-affected areas. These conditions have allowed some fires to continue despite extensive firefighting operations.
Government Faces Class Action Lawsuit
Indigenous and civil society groups in West Kalimantan have filed a class action lawsuit against the Indonesian government, including the president and provincial governor, alleging failure to prevent recurring forest fires. Lawyer Glorio Sanen, representing the groups, argued that the repeated nature of the disasters showed authorities were already aware of the risks. The lawsuit represents the plaintiffs’ allegation and has not been presented in the reports as a court finding against the government.
International Support Expands
Around 350 members of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces arrived in West Kalimantan in September to support firefighting operations. President Prabowo Subianto has also expressed readiness to accept assistance from Malaysia. Meanwhile, Malaysian authorities launched cloud-seeding operations in three southern states as haze and dry conditions pushed air pollution into unhealthy levels, including readings of 156 in Kuala Lumpur and 157 in Kuching.
Burned Area Reaches Hundreds of Thousands of Hectares
Indonesian government data showed that more than 202,000 hectares burned between January and July 2026, while the Nusantara Atlas project estimated nearly 300,000 hectares over the same period and almost 896,000 hectares when August was included. The reports said this year’s fires were more intense and coincided with an exceptionally strong El Niño, while experts also cited climate change, forest degradation, and slash-and-burn land clearing as factors worsening fire conditions.
For Indonesians, the continuing fires show that large-scale deployments have not yet overcome the challenges created by peatlands, water shortages, and extensive burned areas. For Singaporeans, the crisis remains directly relevant because smoke from the fires has continued to affect regional air quality, including Singapore.
Sources: Straits Times (2026) , CNA (2026)
Keywords: Indonesia Forest Fires 2026, Kalimantan Wildfires, Sumatra Fires, Indonesia Haze, Peatland Fires, Transboundary Haze
