South Sumatra Forest Fires: More Than Just Flames, It Is Our Shared Problem

Authors: M. Al Fasyah Nuzulqan Harahap and Amanda Putri Azzahra

JurnalPost.com - Forest and land fires in South Sumatra have once again become an issue that cannot be taken lightly. This problem is not just about burning forests or land. When the fire begins to produce smoke, the impact is felt immediately by the community, ranging from health disruptions to the hindrance of daily activities.

Therefore, handling forest and land fires should not only be done once the fire has appeared and spread. Prevention efforts, monitoring, and increasing public awareness need to be strengthened from the very beginning.

The scale of the forest and land fire problem in South Sumatra can be seen from the monitoring data of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB). On September 17, 2026, there were 3,039 hotspots recorded in the South Sumatra region.

Cumulatively, from January to September 16, 2026, there were 49,591 hotspots and 3,098 forest and land fire incidents observed.

These figures are certainly not small. However, hotspot data must also be read carefully. A hotspot is the result of detecting heat anomalies through satellite monitoring, so not every single hotspot can be immediately interpreted as a single fire incident.

Dry Weather Increases Fire Risk

Weather factors are one of the conditions that can increase the risk of forest and land fires.

Based on climate information from the BMKG (Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency) of South Sumatra at the end of August 2026, most of the South Sumatra region was predicted to experience low rainfall. Entering the first ten days of September, rainfall was also expected to be below normal.

Dry conditions like this make land more flammable and increase the likelihood of hotspots appearing in a number of fire-prone areas.

However, natural factors are not the only cause of fires.

Human activity also plays a major role. In a report by the Cabinet Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia in 2019, the then-Head of the BNPB stated that about 99 percent of the area affected by forest and land fires during that period was related to human activity, whether done intentionally or due to negligence.

While that data describes the situation in 2019 and not specifically the condition of South Sumatra in 2026, it shows that the issue of human behavior has long been an important aspect of efforts to prevent forest and land fires.

Therefore, increasing public awareness remains a crucial part of the strategy for controlling forest and land fires.

Fire Smoke Poses Health Risks

The impact of forest and land fires does not stop at the destruction of vegetation or land. The smoke produced can also affect air quality and public health.

The BARI Regional General Hospital (RSUD) in Palembang explains that fire smoke contains various pollutants, one of which is fine particulate matter known as PM2.5.

These particles are very small, allowing them to enter deep into the respiratory tract and lungs. Exposure to certain amounts can cause various disorders, such as coughing, runny nose, throat irritation, shortness of breath, and acute respiratory infections (ARI).

On August 27, 2026, air quality in the Penukal Abab Lematang Ilir (PALI) Regency even reached an Air Pollutant Standard Index (ISPU) of 255.

That figure falls into the very unhealthy category, with PM2.5 as the critical parameter.

This condition shows that forest and land fires are no longer just an environmental issue. When smoke begins to affect air quality, these fires can develop into a public health problem.

However, the relationship between forest and land fires and the increase in ARI cases must also be presented proportionally.

The BARI Regional General Hospital in Palembang recorded 4,082 ARI cases on August 27, 2026. Cumulatively, there were 13,449 cases across 63 regencies/cities in seven affected provinces.

However, the same source emphasized that not all of these ARI cases can be immediately attributed to forest and land fires.

The relationship between smoke exposure and disease needs to be analyzed based on the timing of the incident, location, air quality conditions, and various other epidemiological data.

In our view, caution in reading data is essential. Information regarding the impact of forest and land fires needs to be conveyed accurately so that the public understands the level of risk without drawing excessive conclusions.

Ecosystems Bear Long-Term Impacts

The damage caused by fires can last much longer than the fire suppression process itself.

One example can be seen in the Padang Sugihan Wildlife Reserve in South Sumatra, which is known as an important habitat for Sumatran elephants.

Research by Kunarso and several other researchers in 2019 found that the area had suffered various levels of damage.

Severe damage was recorded over 13,219.60 hectares, moderate damage reached 31,867.20 hectares, while light damage reached approximately 42,555.91 hectares.

The research cited recurring fires as one of the main causes of damage, along with illegal logging activities and the construction of drainage canals.

These three factors can cause a reduction in peat mass while simultaneously altering or even eliminating the original vegetation composition.

These findings show that the impact of forest and land fires does not end when the flames are extinguished. Ecosystems require a long time to recover, and in some conditions, the damage can be permanent.

Smoke Disrupts Community Activities

Forest and land fires also have a direct impact on social life.

When smoke spreads, visibility can decrease, thereby disrupting community activities and transportation.

The BNPB reported that on September 13, 2026, visibility in the Tanjung Api-Api area of South Sumatra was in the range of 2 to 4 kilometers due to smoke from forest and land fires.

This condition shows that a fire occurring in one area can have an impact on a much wider region.

Smoke can be carried by the wind and spread according to atmospheric conditions, so people far from the fire location also have the potential to feel the effects.

It is at this point that forest and land fires can no longer be viewed solely as an environmental issue. The fires also become a social problem because the community must face declining air quality and various disruptions to their daily activities.

Law Enforcement Remains Necessary

In addition to prevention and suppression measures, law enforcement is an important part of controlling forest and land fires.

Indonesia already has a number of regulations governing the protection of the environment and forest areas.

Law Number 32 of 2009 regulates environmental protection and management, while Law Number 41 of 1999 regulates forestry, including aspects of forest area protection.

Legal handling of forest and land fire cases is also ongoing.

In September 2026, the Ministry of Forestry reported the handling of 31 forest and land fire cases spread across 10 provinces.

The handling is in several stages, ranging from investigation and inquiry to cases that have been submitted to the prosecutor.

Law enforcement is needed to provide a deterrent effect to parties proven to have committed violations. However, at the same time, the community remains the party that directly bears the various impacts of forest and land fires, ranging from deteriorating air quality to disrupted health and daily activities.

Prevention Must Be a Priority

In our view, the problem of forest and land fires cannot be solved by waiting for the fire to grow before taking action.

What is far more important is to strengthen prevention efforts before the dry season reaches its peak.

There are a number of steps that can be taken together.

The public needs to be given an understanding of the risks of burning land. Fire-prone areas need to be continuously monitored, while the appearance of hotspots must be tracked from an early stage.

Land burning that violates regulations must also be dealt with firmly so that it does not continue to recur.

The government and the community need to work together to keep land from becoming easily flammable. When signs of fire appear, reporting and handling should be done as quickly as possible before the fire becomes difficult to control.

In emergency conditions, fire suppression operations via land and air, field patrols, hotspot monitoring, and weather modification operations may indeed be necessary.

However, these various handling steps should not cause attention to prevention to decrease.

We must not only be busy putting out fires when they have already occurred, while efforts to prevent fires from appearing in the first place are neglected.

Ultimately, forest and land fires in South Sumatra are not just a matter of how to extinguish flames. The greater challenge is ensuring that fires do not continue to recur.

The impact can spread to various aspects of life, ranging from ecosystem damage, declining air quality, and health problems to the obstruction of community activities.

Therefore, handling forest and land fires requires the involvement of the government, law enforcement, the business world, and the community.

In our view, success in handling forest and land fires should not only be measured by how quickly the fire is extinguished.

True success occurs when awareness and preventive measures have been established long before the fire starts again.

List of References

Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency. (2026, August 31). Climate information for the first ten days of September for South Sumatra Province, updated August 31, 2026: The South Sumatra region is predicted to experience low rainfall with below-normal rainfall characteristics in the first ten days of September 2026; be alert for an increase in hotspots in fire-prone areas. South Sumatra Climatology Station.

National Disaster Management Agency. (2026, September 17). South Sumatra Forest Fires: Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs and Head of BNPB check suppression operations directly.

Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia. (2026, September 15). Complete data on the handling of forest and land fire cases by the Ministry of Forestry, strict sanctions await.

Kunarso, A., Syabana, T. A. A., Mareti, S., Azwar, F., Kharis, T., & Nuralamin. (2019). Spatial analysis of damage levels in the Padang Sugihan Wildlife Reserve, South Sumatra. Journal of Forest and Nature Conservation Research, 16(2), 191–207.

Republic of Indonesia. (1999). Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 41 of 1999 concerning Forestry.

Republic of Indonesia. (2009). Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 32 of 2009 concerning Environmental Protection and Management.

BARI Regional General Hospital, Palembang. (2026, September 16). The impact of forest and land fires on public health in South Sumatra.

Cabinet Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia. (2019, September 24). Head of BNPB states 99 percent of forest and land fires are caused by humans, 80 percent turned into plantations.