Fires on Indonesia’s Sumatra island cause smoky haze, prompting calls for people to work from home

By MUHAMMAD HATTA and EDNA TARIGAN
Associated Press

PALEMBANG, Indonesia (AP) — More than 300 forest and peatland fires on Indonesia’s Sumatra island are causing hazy skies across the region, prompting government officials to ask people to work from home. The head of the South Sumatra Disaster Management Agency said Monday that the military, police and local government were working together to extinguish the fires, which were burning in 316 places across South Sumatra province, but their work was complicated by the extreme dry weather. Smoke from the fires has blanketed parts of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and southern Thailand. But Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Minister said in a statement on Monday there has been no transboundary haze from Indonesia to Malaysia.