Three Forest and Land Fire Suspects in Samarinda, One Even Blocks Residents from Putting Out Fire

SAMARINDA, KOMPAS.com - The Samarinda Police Department has named three suspects in connection with forest and land fires (karhutla) that have occurred in various areas of Samarinda City, East Kalimantan.

Samarinda Police Chief Commissioner Hendri Umar said the three suspects were identified following investigations into multiple land fire incidents.

"Regarding the handling of the forest and land fires, the investigative process at Samarinda Police has so far resulted in three suspects being named as perpetrators of land burning in several locations," Hendri said on Friday (18/9/2026).

The first suspect, identified by the initials KR, is involved in a land burning case in Sempaja Utara Village, Jalan Salman, near the former Gang Air Terjun.

Investigations revealed that KR had been burning land throughout August 2026. Police found burned areas ranging from approximately 10,000 square meters, 2,500 square meters, down to 200 square meters.

Hendri added that local residents had repeatedly warned KR not to burn land, but these warnings were ignored.

“The individual was also repeatedly warned by locals, but chose not to heed the advice,” he said.

Suspect Boldly Prohibits Fire Extinguishing Efforts

The second suspect, with the initials A, is charged with land burning on Jalan Gunung Kapur, Pelita 4, Sambutan District.

According to Hendri, A deliberately set the land on fire. However, this case drew extra police attention due to the suspect's extreme behavior.

A reportedly forbade local residents and others from attempting to extinguish the fire.

"This is especially serious. The perpetrator went as far as forbidding locals and involved parties from putting out the fire," Hendri said.

A has been detained, and the legal process is being handled by the Samarinda City Police Sector.

Initiative to Burn Land When Asked to Clean Up

The third suspect, RS, was involved in land burning in Gunung Lingai Village, Sungai Pinang District.

RS was initially instructed by the landowner to clean the area, but chose to burn the land to speed up the process.

"So, the person was ordered to clean the land, not to burn it," Hendri explained.

He noted the burning was RS's own initiative, which then caused the fire to spread beyond the intended area.

As a result, the extinguishing efforts required coordination involving the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Samarinda Police Department, Military District Command (Kodim), and volunteers.

Thick Haze Envelopes Samarinda

Hendri said police are currently investigating three additional karhutla cases, and if sufficient evidence is found, more suspects may be named.

Besides enforcement, the Samarinda Police are conducting preventive measures in areas vulnerable to forest and land fires, especially Sambutan, Palaran, North Samarinda, and Sungai Pinang districts.

Authorities have installed bans on land burning, circulated the East Kalimantan Police Chief's public notices, and conducted joint patrols with the TNI (Indonesian Military), BPBD, fire services, and volunteers.

Almost all districts in Samarinda now have integrated posts dedicated to handling forest and land fires.

Meanwhile, Hendri mentioned that the smoke haze in Samarinda has been quite thick in recent days. He noted that the smoke does not only originate from fires within the city but potentially drifts in from surrounding areas such as Kutai Kartanegara, West Kutai, and East Kutai.

"Due to the limited rainfall so far, the movement of smoke and effects from these fires have also impacted areas within Samarinda City," he said.

The suspects face charges under Article 108 of Law Number 1 of 2023 of the Criminal Code, punishable by up to nine years in prison.

They are also charged under Article 108 of Law Number 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management, which carries a minimum sentence of three years, a maximum sentence of 10 years, and fines ranging from Rp 3 billion to Rp 10 billion for those responsible for land burning.