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Forest fires sweep Batam, threatening electrical supply, flights
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Firefighters work to extinguish a wildfire in Rimba Panjang, Riau province, on July 20, 2025. Regions across Indonesia have been urged to remain vigilant against forest fires amid forecasts of drier-than-normal weather in 2026.
PHOTO: AFP
BATAM – Forest fires have swept across Batam in Indonesia’s Riau Islands in recent days, threatening critical infrastructure in the region and producing haze that has disrupted air travel.
Over the weekend, fires spread through a forest near the Batu Besar electricity substation in the provincial capital Batam, which supplies power to thousands of homes across the city.
