Wildfires have moved into the outer zones of Nusantara, placing the new Indonesian capital’s construction perimeter at heightened environmental and health risk. Fires reported in mid-September burned 30 to 40 kilometers (19 to 25 miles) from the government compound, prompting officials to step up surveillance and firefighting activity.
The blazes occurred near Wonotirto, beside the main toll road, and at Bukit Tengkorak inside the Bukit Soeharto protected forest. Nusantara authorities said those sites lie in the city’s designated outer zone, though the flames stopped short of the government complex under construction.
On Sept. 9 Nusantara authority spokesperson Danis H. Sumadilaga said, "Hopefully, it won't reoccur." He added authorities will increase monitoring and patrols to prevent a repeat. Five days later, on Sept. 14, forestry minister Raja Juli Antoni visited the affected areas with the head of the disaster management agency and the lead of Ibu Kota Nusantara, the agency managing the city project.
Helicopters carrying large water buckets operated over the landscape as the delegation surveyed the terrain surrounding the worksite. Spotting smoke in the hills, the minister called for faster deployment of the state fire brigade. He said, "It's there again, where's Manggala Agni?" and urged coordination, "Please coordinate with the firefighters, army, police." The minister also instructed colleagues to reach the locations where smoke was visible.
The encroachment of wildfire into zones set aside around Nusantara underscores the challenges of relocating a national capital from a flood-prone plain in Java to the forests of Borneo. Officials are already running one of the world’s largest construction programmes at the new site, and the episodes highlight the need for routine fire surveillance and interagency firefighting plans.
For now the government complex remains physically unscathed, but authorities say continued monitoring, patrols and coordinated response are required to prevent future incursions. The immediate next steps announced by officials focus on sustained patrols and on-the-ground firefighting coordination to keep fires away from the construction zone.
