Indonesia wildfires threaten orangutans rescued from animal traffickers

Blaze fuelled by hot, dry and windy conditions comes within metres of West Kalimantan rehabilitation centre

Orangutans rescued from wildlife traffickers face a new threat from the record number of fires that have broken out in Indonesia in recent weeks.

Flames have come within metres of an animal rehabilitation centre in West Kalimantan as hot, dry and windy conditions have been amplified by a powerful El Niño and the human-driven climate crisis.

In the first 13 days of August, Indonesia registered more than three times more forest fire hotspots than in the whole of the same month last year. This followed a record number of blazes between January and July.

West Kalimantan has been at the epicentre. After 40 days without rain, there have been dozens of severe outbreaks of fire in the region.

Flames threatened the Yiari orangutan rehabilitation centre this week. The fire moved rapidly from 1km away to within 100 metres of the perimeter within days, prompting staff to relocate the 60 resident orangutans to enclosures in the middle of the centre.

Indonesia authorities have water-bombed the forest to try to control the blaze, and teams from the centre joined the firefighting efforts as the air quality worsened, posing a threat to animals and the wider ecosystem.

The centre’s director, Dr Karmele Llano Sánchez, said in her latest update that battling the fire had been relentless. “We were fighting it until 3am, but this morning it has reignited. The teams are working round the clock but they are exhausted.”

The situation had reportedly stabilised as of Thursday evening, with all the animals safe, but the meteorological agency has said the hot, dry conditions are likely to continue and could lead to more outbreaks.

Indonesian authorities have urged people to avoid setting fires and to remain vigilant because the peak of the fire season is usually in September and October.

Yiari is seeking funds for more firefighting equipment. It warned of the growing threat earlier this year after a fire started for land clearing spread into one of its ecosystem restoration sites.