Inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta.  Indonesian National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo confirmed that 46 people have been named suspects in connection with forest and land fires (Karhutla) in Riau Province. 

The fires have scorched an estimated 280 hectares of land.

“We’re investigating whether the fires were set intentionally or occurred due to negligence,”he  said on Thursday  (24/7/2025)in Jakarta. “So far, 46 people have been detained and are undergoing legal processing.”

Fire suppression efforts are being led by the Land and Forest Fire Task Force, using both water bombing and weather modification methods. Helicopters will be deployed to remote areas such as Rokan Hulu to combat hotspots unreachable by ground crews, according to antaranews.com.

Chief Sigit expected that the weather modification operations will trigger rainfall in critical fire zones. He emphasized the urgency of coordinated efforts between law enforcement and disaster response teams to limit further environmental damage.

(mg/inp/pr/rs)