August 27, 2026
SAMARINDA — Massive forest and land fires continue to ravage the Indonesian island of Kalimantan, with authorities scrambling to contain hundreds of hotspots as dry conditions persist. The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of East Kalimantan recorded 517 fire incidents affecting 1,509.55 hectares of land as of Wednesday (August 26, 2026). Meanwhile, Central Kalimantan has seen even greater destruction, with 5,186.51 hectares burned across 1,837 incidents since the start of the year .
🔥 HUNDREDS OF HOTSPOTS DETECTED DAILY
Cahyo Kristanto, Coordinator of the BPBD East Kalimantan Operation Control Center, revealed that an average of 300 hotspots have been detected daily in recent days. On Tuesday evening (August 25), approximately 399 hotspots were detected in East Kalimantan alone, with 26 points showing strong indications of active fires .
The highest number of hotspots were recorded in Berau, followed by Paser, Kutai Kartanegara (Kukar), and East Kutai .
Based on data through August 26, Paser recorded the highest number of fire incidents in East Kalimantan (135 incidents), but Kukar ranked first in terms of burned area (441.88 hectares) .
🔥 FIRE THREAT REMAINS HIGH
Cahyo warned that hot and dry weather conditions are expected to persist until early September 2026.
"The heat will continue until September 1. The hotspot conditions are extraordinary," Cahyo said when contacted on Thursday (August 27, 2026) .
🔥 FLAMES REACH RESIDENTIAL AREAS IN PALANGKA RAYA
In Central Kalimantan, forest and land fires have expanded to threaten residential neighborhoods. Strong winds fanned the flames, which even reached the side of a house on Jalan Menteng Dua Belas, Palangka Raya, on Wednesday afternoon .
A joint team from the Central Kalimantan Provincial Forestry Service and local volunteers was immediately deployed to the location after receiving reports. Firefighters deployed water tankers and drew water from nearby ponds to halt the fire's spread .
"The fire has already reached the side of the house. The challenge is the increasingly strong winds," said Fauzi Rahman, a firefighting officer from the Central Kalimantan Forestry Service .
🔥 PEATLAND FIRE ON BALSAM TOLL ROAD
A joint team also battled a peatland fire along the Balikpapan-Samarinda (Balsam) Toll Road in Kutai Kartanegara (Kukar) Regency on Wednesday (August 26). The fire struck a brushland area at STA 31.600, RT 005, Sungai Merdeka Village, Samboja Barat District .
Samboja Police Chief, AKP Mohamad Yazid, explained that the peatland terrain posed a unique challenge. The characteristics of peat — which easily retain heat underground — mean that fires can reignite even after the surface has been extinguished .
The fire was successfully brought under control around 8:40 PM WITA after dozens of joint personnel were deployed .
🔥 HOUSE FIRE IN BALIKPAPAN CLAIMS TODDLER'S LIFE
In addition to forest fires, a residential fire struck a two-story house on Jalan Sulawesi, Gang Buntu RT 45 Number 24, Karang Rejo Village, Central Balikpapan District, Balikpapan City, on Wednesday afternoon (August 26) .
The incident resulted in the death of a 4-year-old toddler named Devan, while four others suffered burn injuries .
Muriono, an officer at the East Kalimantan Provincial BPBD Operations Center, reported that the fire occurred around 4:40 PM WITA. A total of 13 fire trucks were deployed to extinguish the blaze .
🔥 CHALLENGES IN PEATLAND FIRE SUPPRESSION
Maryanto, Head of the North Kalimantan Forestry Service, revealed that the most difficult firefighting operations are in the peatland area owned by PT Kalimantan Industrial Park Indonesia (KIPI), which is estimated to account for up to 900 hectares of burned land .
"The most difficult area yesterday was PT KIPI. We had to rotate teams. This is our second team, along with KPH, and tomorrow the third team will rotate in. We organize this strategy so that personnel on the ground don't collapse, because the firefighting process is extremely exhausting, especially with the smoke and haze rising from underground," explained Maryanto .
🔥 WILDFIRE STATISTICS ACROSS KALIMANTAN (As of August 26, 2026)
Region Incidents Burned Area
East Kalimantan 517 1,509.55 Ha
Central Kalimantan 1,837 5,186.51 Ha
North Kalimantan 31 firefighting operations 1,076.93 Ha
🔥 PRESIDENT PRABOWO: REVOKE LICENSES OF COMPANIES THAT BURN LAND
President Prabowo Subianto reaffirmed his firm stance, stating that he will revoke the licenses of any corporations found to be involved in land burning that causes forest and land fires .
"Whoever it is, whatever corporation it is, if there is even a slight indication that they ordered the burning, we will revoke their licenses. We will revoke all corporate licenses," Prabowo said on Monday (August 24, 2026) .
Presidential Chief of Staff (KSP) Dudung Abdurachman revealed that the Ministry of Environment has recorded approximately 335 concession-holding companies in Sumatra and Kalimantan whose areas show indications of fire points, with nearly 85,000 hectares of burned land .
🔥 WHAT'S NEXT
· Early September 2026: Dry season is expected to continue, maintaining high fire risk
· Firefighting Operations: Rotation strategies in place to prevent personnel exhaustion
· Investigation: Companies suspected of involvement in land burning to face license revocation
· Relief Efforts: Assistance for displaced families and victims, including the family of the deceased toddler
— Global Journal, August 27, 2026
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