Indonesia seals four East Kalimantan firms as fire probe expands

In East Kalimantan, four companies have been officially sealed as the government intensifies its response to forest and land fires that have devastated large swaths of land nationwide. The action, announced at the regional disaster management agency’s command post in Samarinda, is part of a larger crackdown that has already affected 50 firms in eight provinces. Authorities report that more than 200,000 hectares burned across Indonesia, with roughly 84,646 hectares located within concession areas belonging to 335 companies.

Sealed sites now display prohibition signs, halting all operations while investigators collect soil and vegetation samples for laboratory analysis. If violations are confirmed, fines could reach up to Rp1 trillion, reflecting the severity of the environmental damage. The Environment Ministry also urged local governments to harmonize fire-monitoring data, noting discrepancies among military, police, satellite and agency reports, and suggested adopting a single satellite source such as NOAA-20, as used by ASEAN, followed by ground verification.