Australia Joins Indonesia's Wildfire Waterbombing as Haze Sickens 400,000 in Worst Fires in 11 Years

JAKARTA — Australia will join Indonesia's waterbombing operations against wildfires that have raged for months across the archipelago, Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said on Thursday, 5 November 2026, as the country battles its most intense fire season in 11 years and haze-linked illness spreads through seven provinces.

The announcement, made by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in a statement on Thursday, brings one of the region's most experienced aerial firefighting forces into an operation that has already stretched Indonesia's own fleet. Australia's New South Wales Rural Fire Service has dispatched one C-130 Hercules and one Cessna Citation aircraft, which will join the waterbombing operations from November 6 to 12, according to the statement.

Illustration: A waterbombing aircraft drops water over a burning peatland forest in Indonesia as smoke columns rise into a dusk sky.

What Happened

The Australian support includes a Large Air Tanker able to drop up to 15,000 litres of water per sortie, with up to six sorties a day, Australian Ambassador Roderick Bruce Brazier said in the same statement. At that tempo, a single tanker could deliver up to 90,000 litres of water a day onto fire lines that ground crews have struggled to reach.

BNPB head Kristomei Sianturi said Indonesia had continued what he described as "massive efforts" to control the fires, including waterbombing and cloud seeding operations and engaging foreign assistance. The Australian deployment is the most visible result so far of that appeal for outside help, and it arrives at a moment when the human cost of the crisis is becoming clearer by the day.

Fire and haze have caused over 400,000 cases of acute respiratory infections in seven provinces as of November 2, Health Ministry data showed. The figure captures only reported cases of respiratory illness linked to the smoke, and it underlines why the fires are no longer treated as a seasonal nuisance: for hundreds of thousands of people, the haze has become a direct health emergency.

The operation is also carrying real risk for the crews flying it. On Wednesday, 4 November, a waterbombing helicopter crashed in Central Kalimantan on Borneo island, killing one crew member and injuring five others, the military said. Two remaining officers had yet to be evacuated, according to the military. The crash is a reminder that the waterbombing campaign is being flown in difficult conditions — low visibility, shifting winds and smoke-thickened air over burning peatland.

Indonesia is battling its most intense wildfires in 11 years, with large swathes scorched mainly on Sumatra, Borneo and Papua, according to Reuters. The scale of the burning, across three of the country's largest islands, is what sets this season apart from the quieter years that preceded it — and what has pushed the response from a domestic operation into one that now draws on international support.

Background

The fires returned on a massive scale in 2026 after several quiet years, according to an analysis by The ASEAN Frontier published on 5 November 2026. As of August 2026, fires had already hit Jambi, Riau and South Sumatra on Sumatra, and West, Central, South and East Kalimantan on Borneo. Warnings of severe drought from a strong El Niño had circulated before the escalation, the analysis said.

The blog previously reported on 15 October 2026 that President Prabowo had ordered a surge in firefighting as El Niño haze choked Southeast Asia. That surge — more personnel, more aircraft and a push to keep waterbombing flights going — bought time, but it did not end the season. Three weeks later, the fires are still burning, and the government has now turned to foreign partners to add aircraft it does not have in sufficient numbers of its own.

Illustration: A city skyline shrouded in thick orange-grey wildfire haze, with residents wearing face masks on the street below.

The dry conditions behind the fires are tied to El Niño, the Pacific climate pattern that typically brings drier weather to Southeast Asia. This El Niño is expected to peak in December, according to the Associated Press on 5 November 2026, and it is intensifying heavy rain and floods in the US Southwest while Southeast Asia stays drier than usual. That split — floods on one side of the Pacific, drought on the other — is the classic El Niño signature, and for Indonesia it means the fire risk is unlikely to ease quickly.

Enforcement has accompanied the firefighting. The government investigated 42 concession-holding companies in connection with the fires, imposed administrative sanctions on six of them and named two as suspects, according to The ASEAN Frontier. The figures point to a familiar tension in Indonesia's fire seasons: while lightning and drought create the conditions, fires on plantation and concession land have repeatedly been linked to land-clearing practices.

The wider climate context makes the season harder to dismiss as a one-off. The OECD Climate Action Monitor 2026, released on 5 November 2026, found that the global number of days with above-average temperatures has risen 126 percent since the early 1980s. OECD populations had 35 percent more heat-stress days in 2021–2025 than in the 1981–2010 baseline, the report said, and cropland soil moisture was 2.6 percent lower on average in 2021–2025 than 1981–2010. Hotter days and drier soils are exactly the conditions that turn a spark into a fire season.

Why It Matters

The Australian deployment matters first because of what it adds to the fire line. A Large Air Tanker dropping up to 15,000 litres per sortie, up to six times a day, can hit fires that helicopters cannot reach with the same volume, and can lay down water lines ahead of advancing flames to protect villages and infrastructure. For ground crews who have been fighting peat fires — which burn underground, smoulder for weeks and reignite after surface flames are extinguished — that volume of water from the air is one of the few tools that can make a rapid difference.

It matters second because of the health toll. More than 400,000 reported cases of acute respiratory infections in seven provinces is a figure that turns a distant environmental story into a public-health emergency. Children, older people and those with existing respiratory conditions are the most vulnerable to prolonged haze exposure, and clinics in the worst-affected provinces have been dealing with the surge for weeks.

Illustration: Firefighters battle a peatland fire at the forest edge in Borneo, with helicopters flying through a smoky sky above them.

It matters third because the fires do not stop at Indonesia's borders. Haze from Indonesian fires has repeatedly drifted across Southeast Asia in past fire seasons, closing schools, grounding flights and straining relations with neighbouring countries. The decision to bring in Australian aircraft is as much about containing that regional fallout as it is about protecting Indonesian forests.

What Happens Next

The Australian aircraft join operations from November 6 to 12, according to the BNPB statement — a one-week window in which the Large Air Tanker and the Cessna Citation will fly alongside Indonesia's existing fleet. What happens after 12 November is not yet clear from the statement: whether the deployment is extended and whether other countries answer Indonesia's call for assistance will depend on how the fires develop in the coming days.

The weather will decide much of that. With this El Niño expected to peak in December, according to the Associated Press, the dry conditions feeding the fires are likely to persist for weeks. Rain, when it comes, will do more than any aircraft to end the season — but the forecast for Southeast Asia staying drier than usual offers little comfort in the short term.

Health authorities will also be watching the respiratory-infection figures. The count of over 400,000 cases as of November 2 is already high, and it will rise if the haze persists. Whether clinics in the seven affected provinces can cope with a further surge, and whether the government issues new health advisories or school closures, will be among the first signs of how the crisis is evolving on the ground.

Enforcement will continue in parallel. The investigations into 42 concession-holding companies, the sanctions on six and the two named as suspects, according to The ASEAN Frontier, suggest the government intends to pair firefighting with accountability. Further announcements on those cases will show whether that intent is followed through once the flames are out.

On the international stage, the fires arrive just as the world's climate negotiators prepare to gather: COP31 opens in Antalya, Türkiye, on 9 November 2026.

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FAQ

What aircraft is Australia sending to help fight Indonesia's wildfires?

Australia's New South Wales Rural Fire Service has dispatched one C-130 Hercules and one Cessna Citation aircraft. The support includes a Large Air Tanker able to drop up to 15,000 litres of water per sortie, up to six sorties per day, according to Australian Ambassador Roderick Bruce Brazier.

When will the Australian aircraft join the waterbombing operations?

Both aircraft will join operations from November 6 to 12, according to the statement from Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency, BNPB, on Thursday, 5 November 2026.

How bad are Indonesia's wildfires in 2026?

Indonesia is battling its most intense wildfires in 11 years, with large swathes scorched mainly on Sumatra, Borneo and Papua, according to Reuters. Fire and haze have caused over 400,000 cases of acute respiratory infections in seven provinces as of November 2, according to Health Ministry data.

What happened to the waterbombing helicopter in Central Kalimantan?

On Wednesday, 4 November, a waterbombing helicopter crashed in Central Kalimantan on Borneo island, killing one crew member and injuring five others, the military said. Two remaining officers had yet to be evacuated, according to the military.

Why are the fires so severe this year?

The fires returned on a massive scale in 2026 after several quiet years, according to The ASEAN Frontier, with warnings of severe drought from a strong El Niño circulating before the escalation. This El Niño is expected to peak in December, according to the Associated Press, and Southeast Asia is staying drier than usual, which prolongs the fire risk.

Sources

• Reuters, 5 November 2026 — "Australia to join Indonesia's wildfire waterbombing operations, disaster agency says" (BNPB statement; C-130 Hercules and Cessna Citation from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, operations November 6–12; Large Air Tanker, up to 15,000 litres per sortie and up to six sorties per day, per Ambassador Roderick Bruce Brazier; helicopter crash in Central Kalimantan, one killed and five injured, per the military; most intense wildfires in 11 years; over 400,000 acute respiratory infection cases in seven provinces as of November 2, per Health Ministry data; "massive efforts" quote from BNPB head Kristomei Sianturi).
• The ASEAN Frontier, 5 November 2026 — fires returned on a massive scale in 2026 after several quiet years; fires as of August 2026 in Jambi, Riau, South Sumatra and West, Central, South and East Kalimantan; warnings of severe drought from a strong El Niño; 42 concession-holding companies investigated, administrative sanctions on six, two named as suspects.
• Associated Press, 5 November 2026 — this El Niño is expected to peak in December and is intensifying heavy rain and floods in the US Southwest while Southeast Asia stays drier than usual.
• OECD Climate Action Monitor 2026, released 5 November 2026 — global days with above-average temperatures up 126 percent since the early 1980s; OECD populations had 35 percent more heat-stress days in 2021–2025 than the 1981–2010 baseline; cropland soil moisture 2.6 percent lower on average in 2021–2025 than 1981–2010.
• World News Daily Hub, 15 October 2026 (post #5) — President Prabowo ordered a surge in firefighting as El Niño haze choked Southeast Asia (background, previously reported).