Indonesian police on Sunday (August 23, 2026) arrested 72 people suspected of starting some of the recent forest and peatland fires as huge blazes in central and western parts of the country triggered a harmful cloud known as a choking haze.
Investigators were still tracing financial records to determine whether companies financed or ordered the land clearing, signalling the probe could expand beyond those arrested. The arson suspects were being investigated in connection with 89 forest and land fire cases across five provinces on the island of Borneo and four on Sumatra, Mr.
Plantation owners and traditional farmers often start fires to clear land for farming, said Mohammad Irhamni, director of special crimes at the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency. Irhamni said. He said most of the suspects were accused of deliberately burning land to clear areas for plantations at lower cost.
Accompanying the President was Prasetyo Hadi, the head of the State Secretariat. If they are proven to have intentionally set the fires, they could face sanctions, including the revocation of their operating permits, he added. BNPB chief Mr.
Suharyanto said fire activity had increased in West, Central and South Kalimantan provinces on Borneo, where many blazes worsen due to peatlands, prolonging the dangerous haze in several areas.
He said at least four companies in West Kalimantan province are under investigation for allegedly using fire to clear land.
