Vice President Gibran urges stronger fire patrols across high-risk provinces

While on a working trip to Banjarbaru, Vice President Gibran urged all relevant parties to step up fire-prevention patrols throughout the prolonged dry spell. He highlighted the need for early hotspot detection, which depends on coordinated efforts across multiple agencies because a single body cannot cover the vast at-risk regions. Gibran also demanded that any obstacles to monitoring be swiftly removed to keep field operations effective.

In addition to patrols, he called on local governments to increase outreach and education, fostering community awareness to avoid activities that could spark fires. The initiative targets six provinces—Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Riau, South Sumatra, and Jambi—where forest and land fires have already erupted amid a strong El Niño event.