Prabowo Warns Against Forest Fires Entering IKN Core Zone

President Prabowo Subianto has urged officials to strictly prevent forest fires (karhutla) in East Kalimantan from encroaching on the core zone of the new capital Nusantara (IKN). The president conveyed this directive during a limited meeting (ratas) on disaster management held at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Monday (7/9/2026). The meeting was attended virtually by cabinet members and regional heads from disaster-affected areas. Prabowo asked the Head of BNPB, Suharyanto, to explain which provinces still have extensive fire hotspots. It is known that Riau and West Kalimantan still have a large number of fire hotspots. "The fires near IKN also need to be carefully considered," said Prabowo. He requested that attention be paid to the deployment of Japanese military ships and helicopters that will be arriving in Kalimantan to assist in handling the forest fires. Prabowo emphasized to the meeting participants that more assets may need to be deployed to prevent the fire hotspots from penetrating the IKN zone. "Perhaps we need to deploy more assets to ensure the fires do not reach... yes, the core zone (IKN)," he added. Information source: Detik