Indonesia to assess overseas fire aid as it seeks to extinguish blazes

Indonesia will judge overseas firefighting offers by their usefulness to operations, Environment Minister Jumhur Hidayat said on October 13. Speaking in Jakarta, he said the government wanted to extinguish the country's forest and land blazes in less than a month.

Jumhur said small foreign personnel teams might contribute little alongside the tens of thousands of responders already deployed by Indonesia, according to state news agency Antara. Water-bombing aircraft would also be assessed for their effectiveness and suitability to operational requirements. He named no countries offering support.

Malaysia's earlier offer included 52 people, firefighting aircraft and three helicopters. Singapore has separately indicated its willingness to assist where necessary. The fires have persisted for weeks, spreading haze across borders and increasing respiratory conditions in all three countries. Malaysia has closed schools, with Johor the latest state affected.

Authorities said Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra were the main focus of firefighting. Heavy smoke has obstructed helicopter access to some locations, leaving ground operations with a greater role. Jumhur said discussions with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) suggested extinguishing the fires would take a few weeks. Although their intensity was easing, water shortages and operational obstacles continued to hamper responders.

Jumhur also outlined plans to end a traditional-practice exemption that lets each household burn land covering up to two hectares. The government is considering barring plantation crops, including oil palm, from being replanted on concessions burned before commercial planting. He said deliberate burning within concessions would face strict sanctions.