King Ambat's travel impacted Karhutla, Homestay Quiet for a month

The fires of forests and land (carhutla) in Dayan Bonder Island, the Northern Batanta district, the district of King Ampat, West Papua, impacts on tourism, agriculture, to the availability of clean water.

The Regional Disaster Returns (BBD) recorded the area being burned to 7.2 hectares in early September 2026. The fire was first detected on 2 September last around 3: 00 WIT, before the fire returned at some point at the end of the same month.

The impact of the fire was sustained by a local tourist venture. The owner of Batanta Paradise Homestay, Ketsya Kolomit, said the tourists canceled a visit after learning about the fires that occurred in the area.

"For sea travel activities indeed are not disturbed by fire smoke. But, for a guest at homestay it's been gone for a month," said Ketsya, quoted from Between Thursday (15 / 10).

He's hoping the tourists come back to visit so his family's resort can continue. "We really need guests," he added.

West Papua BPBD arrived in Dayan Island two days after the fire was detected and did 14 days of handling. Locals, including homestay owners, helped with the blackout effort.

The fire threatened Dayan Island's ecosystem which was part of the Batanta Island support ecosystem. It's a habitat of various animals and plants, including the king's cockatoo, possum, matoa and iron wood.

In addition to the tourism sector, fires, and prolonged drought also made it difficult for people to get clean water.

The well that belonged to the Ketsya family turned salty so the cooking water had to be taken from a spring across the island. A similar condition is reported to be experienced by citizens in Northern Batanta and South Batanta.

Batanta County coordinator Wilhemus Major, says the conditions are unusual in his territory. "This has never happened before. Almost six months, it's only rained once," said Wilhemus.

The effects of drought were also felt by farmers in Wailebet village, the Southern Batanta District. People's cocoa plants had fruit damage and yellow leaves.

Meanwhile, the BMKG estimates the El Niño phenomenon continues until the beginning of 2027 and potentially backwards early monsoon in the Indonesian region.