August 22, 2026 | 05:30 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia will deploy 1,500 additional military personnel and six helicopters to help battle forest and land fires in West Kalimantan, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said Saturday, after President Prabowo Subianto chaired a meeting on the fires.
Teddy said Prabowo arrived at Supadio Air Force Base in West Kalimantan and immediately led a meeting to receive an update on the fires and coordinate the government’s response.
“Several measures have been prepared, including the deployment of three additional TNI battalions, or around 1,500 personnel, from outside Kalimantan starting today through Sunday morning,” Teddy said in a written statement issued in Jakarta on Saturday.
The additional ground personnel will be deployed to help extinguish fires that remain active.
The government will also deploy six additional heavy-lift helicopters for water-bombing operations. The helicopters were scheduled to arrive Saturday afternoon to strengthen aerial firefighting efforts.
Authorities will also expand weather modification operations to support firefighting efforts, taking into account forecasts of potential rainfall in several parts of West Kalimantan.
Teddy said the measures were aimed at speeding up firefighting operations and containing the spread of the fires.
After the meeting, Prabowo traveled to Limbung Village in Sungai Raya District, Kubu Raya Regency, to inspect areas that were still burning.
The visit was intended to allow the president to see the situation firsthand and assess the government’s response on the ground.
Earlier, Prabowo had asked officials at the meeting to provide an assessment based on actual conditions in fire-affected areas, rather than relying solely on reports.
The meeting brought together central and local government officials to coordinate the response to the fires, which have affected parts of West Kalimantan.
Prabowo’s visit came as firefighters continued efforts to contain fires in the province, with smoke still covering some affected areas.
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