Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesian police announced on August 23 that they had arrested 72 people suspected of involvement in 89 forest and land fires across nine provinces on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, amid a surge in wildfires that has caused severe haze and affected neighbouring Malaysia, the Jakarta Post reported.
Mohammad Irhamni, director of special crimes at the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency, said that plantation owners and traditional farmers often start fires to clear land for farming.
Police are continuing their investigation to determine whether any companies were behind the incidents by financing or directing such activities.
At least four companies in West Kalimantan province are also under investigation for allegedly using fire to clear land. If found to have deliberately caused the fires, the companies could face a range of sanctions, including revocation of their operating licenses. Individuals involved could be fined or sentenced to up to 15 years in prison, depending on the severity of their violations.
Indonesian authorities have stepped up response measures, including cloud seeding to induce rainfall, as well as deploying helicopters to conduct water bombing and aerial patrols. President Prabowo Subianto visited Central Kalimantan province on August 22, where more than 7,600 hectares of land have been burned, to oversee efforts to control the wildfires and haze.
The smoke from the fires has now spread to neighbouring Malaysia, prompting authorities in Sarawak state to close nearly 600 schools, affecting around 200,000 students, as air quality in some areas deteriorated to “very unhealthy” or “unhealthy” levels.
In a separate incident, a fire broke out on the night of August 22 in Adat Sade village, a popular cultural tourism site of the Sasak people in Indonesia’s West Nusa Tenggara province, destroying around 120 houses. No casualties were reported, but the fire affected about 320 people and damaged a mosque, a museum, business stalls and several public facilities. It was brought under control at around 5:00 on August 23, and its cause is under investigation./.
Indonesia intensifies cloud seeding as wildfires worsen
Indonesia is expanding the use of cloud seeding, a technique that disperses substances such as silver iodide, salt and other particles into clouds to trigger rainfall. The method is rarely used worldwide as a direct response to wildfires.
