SINTANG, Indonesia: Indonesian firefighters are struggling to contain a growing wave of fires across Borneo, working through the night with limited equipment as flames consume peatlands and thick smoke blankets nearby communities.
Fire crews in West Kalimantan province are battling fires that have been fuelled by unusually dry conditions linked partly to a stronger-than-normal El Niño weather pattern affecting Southeast Asia.
Environmental experts say the worsening situation is also connected to climate change, years of forest degradation and slash-and-burn land clearing, which have left parts of the landscape increasingly vulnerable to fire.
“We are exhausted. Sometimes we carry out firefighting until dawn. Sometimes we don’t sleep,” said Sampe Ritonga, fire chief in Sintang regency.
Standing on still-smouldering peatland, Ritonga said firefighting operations were being hampered by a shortage of equipment and infrastructure.
Water shortages hamper firefighting
With river levels falling, firefighters have been forced to search for water in drainage ditches and small rivers, sometimes located far from the areas actively burning.
Ritonga said crews faced the twin challenges of fighting intense fires while simultaneously searching for adequate water supplies.
“Despite the limitations, we try as hard as we can to extinguish the fires and reduce the smoke,” he said.
Residents gathered near the firefighting operations, some bringing drinking water for exhausted emergency workers.
“There are many houses here, and that is what we have to protect,” Ritonga said.
‘I am scared. Truly scared’
For local residents, the fires have brought an immediate threat to homes and communities.
Sutrismi, 47, said she was at home on Saturday when she heard a crackling noise. Looking outside, she saw smoke rising from peatland across the road.
Peat fires can be particularly difficult to extinguish because they often burn slowly beneath the surface for weeks or even months, producing enormous amounts of smoke while generating relatively few visible flames.
Sutrismi said her first response was to seek help from local authorities.
“I am scared. Truly scared,” she said.
Hazardous haze blankets Pontianak
The effects of the fires have spread far beyond the immediate burn areas.
In Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan located around 400 kilometres away, residents have endured weeks of polluted air. The smell of smoke has reportedly become noticeable even inside homes.
On Sunday, PM2.5 pollution levels briefly surpassed 500 micrograms per cubic metre, according to Swiss air-quality monitor IQAir. The reading was more than 100 times the World Health Organization’s recommended safe level for fine particles capable of penetrating deep into the lungs and entering the bloodstream.
The pollution has also disrupted education. Hundreds of schools across West Kalimantan have been closed indefinitely, with approximately 200,000 students studying from home, according to the education ministry.
Authorities have additionally reported an increase in respiratory illnesses.
Calls for greater government support
Ritonga appealed for additional assistance to strengthen firefighting capacity.
“We really hope there will be some assistance or grants for us, so we can be faster, more alert and more responsive,” he said.
West Kalimantan Governor Ria Norsan said authorities were working to address shortages faced by crews on the ground.
The provincial government says almost 14,500 firefighters and other personnel have been deployed. The response also includes nine aircraft for water-bombing, three surveillance aircraft and one aircraft assigned to cloud-seeding operations aimed at encouraging rainfall.
Environmental damage under scrutiny
Environmental campaigners argue that the scale of the fires is closely linked to the long-term destruction and drainage of forests and peatlands.
Greenpeace Indonesia forest campaigner Belgis Habiba said plantations, including oil-palm and pulpwood operations, drain peatlands and leave the soil dangerously dry and combustible.
“When the water is drained, the peat dries and becomes flammable,” she said.
Greenpeace estimates that around 35 million people in Indonesia are exposed to toxic haze from the fires. Smoke has also crossed into neighbouring Malaysia and affected other parts of the region.
Belgis called on the Indonesian government to declare the fires a national disaster, arguing that such a move would help mobilise additional resources for healthcare, emergency response and wildlife protection.
More than 285,000 hectares burned
According to the Nusantara Atlas fire tracker, more than 285,000 hectares of land have burned across Indonesia so far this year, including approximately 38,000 hectares in West Kalimantan, based on official figures.
The United Nations has warned that the ongoing El Niño event, expected to continue into next year, could rank among the strongest seen in decades, raising concerns that dry conditions could continue to intensify the fire threat.
