Sulawesi's Mount Soputan Forest Fire Spreads to 300 Ha

5 hours ago 1

August 4, 2026 | 11:04 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Julex Wanga, Head of the Emergency and Logistics Division of the Southeast Minahasa Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), North Sulawesi, said the Mount Soputan protected forest fire has spread to 300 hectares.

"Since the fire broke out on Sunday (August 2), we estimate it has reached 300 hectares or even more," Julex said in Manado on Tuesday.

He explained that strong winds triggered the rapid spread of the fire across the Mount Soputan protected forest area. "The wind was blowing quite hard, I felt like I was going to collapse, and the area became increasingly difficult to reach," he said.

Hotspots appeared intermittently, extinguishing briefly before reappearing in other locations. "There were around four to five hotspots last night, and they were extensive," he said.

Joint personnel from the local government, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the Indonesian National Police (Polri), nature conservationists, community groups, and local residents continued their efforts to extinguish the spreading fire.

"On the second day of the fire, we even managed to extinguish the fire until midnight," he added.

Previously, on Sunday, August 2, at around 09:45 WITA, a fire was reported in the Mount Soputan protected area. Fifteen minutes later, the Southeast Minahasa BPBD and other personnel arrived at the scene and began suppression efforts.

By the second day, officials estimated the burned area of the protected forest had reached 50 to 100 hectares.

Read: The Fire Is Already Raging in West Kalimantan

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