JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Four people died and two others suffered severe burns while battling a wildfire in a national park on Indonesia's main island of Java, after they became trapped by thick smoke and rapidly spreading flames, officials said Friday.
The blaze erupted in recent days in the Mentigen and Pusung Lingker areas of the popular Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java’s Probolinggo regency.
The victims were among a 12-member firefighting team consisting of national park personnel, members of a community fire brigade and local volunteers trying to contain the wildfire on Thursday, said East Java police spokesperson Jules Abraham Abast.
Strong winds fanned the flames and caused the fire to spread quickly through dry vegetation. At about 1:30 p.m., firefighters operating outside the danger zone received an emergency call from colleagues who had become trapped by dense smoke and advancing flames, Abast said.
The fire follows a major blaze in August that scorched nearly 9 square kilometers (3.5 square miles) of grassland and vegetation, including protected edelweiss flowers, in the park.
Rescuers later found three people dead and three others suffering severe burns at an evacuation point. One of those suffering burns died while receiving treatment, Abast said.
Two volunteers remained hospitalized with serious burn injuries after being transferred to Dr. Soetomo General Hospital in Surabaya for specialized treatment. Six others escaped unharmed.
“The incident occurred in a remote mountainous area, complicating rescue efforts,” said Probolinggo police chief Asmida Rizki Siregar, who joined emergency crews carrying victims on stretchers for about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) because steep terrain prevented vehicles from reaching the site.
She said authorities completed the evacuation late Thursday and have launched an investigation into the deaths, including whether negligence or criminal wrongdoing contributed to the tragedy. Investigators were collecting evidence and interviewing survivors.
The deaths came as Indonesia intensified efforts to combat forest and land fires that have worsened this year as El Niño intensifies a prolonged dry season. Contributing factors also include land clearance using fire in the Indonesian part of Borneo and regions of Sumatra Island, as well as water shortages that have hampered Indonesian firefighters, who have received assistance from Japan.
Indonesia's Forestry Ministry recorded 799 hotspots nationwide as of Thursday evening, up sharply from 372 a day earlier. More than three-quarters were concentrated in six fire-prone provinces on Sumatra and Borneo.
Toxic haze and smoke have caused a health crisis in neighboring countries as well. The smoke has drifted as far as the Philippines, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) away.
The surge in fires has renewed concerns about transboundary haze across Southeast Asia. Malaysia on Friday ordered hundreds of schools closed in several states because of deteriorating air quality.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan rejected calls from some lawmakers to seek compensation from Indonesia, saying the crisis should be addressed through diplomatic engagement and ASEAN mechanisms. He said Malaysia was coordinating assistance for Indonesia and would push for stronger regional cooperation on haze management.
Singapore also called for closer cooperation. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said authorities were investigating companies allegedly linked to Indonesian forest and peatland fires that have worsened the haze and would pursue action under Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act where warranted.
Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry recorded more than 2,020 square kilometers (780 square miles) of burned land between January and July, almost three times Singapore’s size. The independent Nusantara Atlas project, which monitors fires using satellite imagery, estimated that nearly 8,960 square kilometers (3,460 square miles) of land had burned by the end of August in Indonesia.
Associated Press writers Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.
A woman pushes a stroller in a park as haze from wildfires shrouds the city of Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
A pigeon flies as haze from wildfires shrouds the city of Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
Women walk as haze from wildfires shrouds the city of Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska's major U.S. Senate candidates clashed over the Iran war, soaring consumer prices and personal credibility Thursday during a high-stakes debate in a contest that will play into control of the closely divided chamber.
Two-term Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan said the war needs to end soon, and he wants the Strait of Hormuz to open and a deal to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, said an agreement is “so far out of sight” and lamented the deaths of 20 military personnel.
“This war is driving up our energy bills and hurting Alaskans with no end in sight,” she said.
Sullivan said the best way to bring down energy costs “is to produce more Alaskan energy by and for Alaskans.”
The debate followed contours of Senate contests around the country, with Peltola blaming the Trump administration for rising gas and consumer prices and pulling back from traditional alliances around the globe, while Sullivan warned that Democratic leadership in Congress would undercut the military and curb domestic energy production.
The debate also took on an edgy, deeply personal tone, as the candidates repeatedly accused each other of being dishonest or misleading.
“I think that Alaskans have had it up to here with the lying and the dishonesty,” Peltola said at one point, addressing her rival.
Sullivan repeatedly accused Peltola of lying throughout their campaign and said “it’s revealed character challenges.”
Foreign conflicts and their impact at home produced some of the sharpest exchanges.
Asked about Ukraine and President Donald Trump's deal to buy Russian diesel, Peltola said, “I think it’s so important that we stand with Ukraine and our allies. We have been making new adversaries out of our traditional allies across the globe.”
“I think we should be doing everything in our power to help support them, not bolstering up Russia,” she added.
Sullivan said he was a strong supporter of Ukraine, then said Democrats were always “cutting our military, undermining readiness.”
Peltola appeared to be reading from note cards during several of her answers, at one prompting Sullivan to question the moderators and say he didn’t think the candidates were supposed to get questions ahead of time. A moderator said they did not.
Visits by Trump on Tuesday to conservative Wasilla and by Vice President JD Vance the week before to Fairbanks, the hometown of Sullivan’s wife, underscore the stakes involved as both parties seek control of the chamber. Alaska last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 2008.
The contest is playing out in a turbulent political year in which voter angst over the Iran war, soaring gas and diesel prices and a rising cost of living have put the House and Senate up for grabs.
Before the debate, noisy supporters of both candidates gathered with signs — and at least one bullhorn — outside the Alaska Public Media studios.
There was a brief moment of agreement when the candidates were asked about the possibility of a third Trump term in the White House. Sullivan said it would be unconstitutional, and Peltola said that the law was clear, “Two terms for every president.”
The race also includes two Republicans who have done virtually no campaigning, including another Dan Sullivan. To participate in Thursday's debate, candidates had to win at least 5% of the vote in August's open primary.
Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher who dominated attention ahead of the primary and was called a sham candidate by the senator and his allies, including Trump, finished third with about 2.5% of the vote. Dan J. Sullivan said he received no invitations to any candidate forums.
The incumbent finished second to Peltola in the August primary, in which the top four vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, advanced to the ranked vote general election. Sullivan, a retired Marine, said the race comes down to record, vision and character.
“I saw her up close and personal. It wasn’t pretty,” he told reporters after the debate, referring to Peltola’s time in office.
He said Peltola was ineffective during her time in Congress. But in an interview Wednesday, Peltola said she worked well with Sullivan as part of Alaska’s three-member congressional delegation and said he was engaging in “kind of revisionist history.”
“Our delegation worked so well together the two years that I was there,” she said, citing as accomplishments the approval of the major Willow oil project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Peltola won special and regular elections for the state’s only House seat in 2022 before losing reelection in 2024.
Associated Press writer Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
In this photo shot with a smart phone, Democrat Mary Peltola smiles ahead of a debate with Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska's Senate race, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
In this photo shot with a smart phone, Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan poses ahead of a debate with Democrat Mary Peltola in Alaska's Senate race, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
Democrat Mary Peltola smiles ahead of a debate with Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska's Senate race on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan is seen ahead of a debate with Democrat Mary Peltola in Alaska's Senate race on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
In this photo shot with a smart phone, supporters of Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola gathered outside the venue where the candidates were set to debate, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
In this photo taken with a smartphone, Mary Peltola, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Alaska, speaks to a reporter at a picketing event for Horizon Air flight attendants Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, in Anchorage, Ala. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
President Donald Trump listens as Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks at a campaign rally at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Wasilla, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
