On Borneo’s scorched peatland, a teen volunteer in a Superman cape becomes an unlikely symbol of hope

Indonesian student Rudiansyah (right) dressed in a Superman costume helps to extinguish a forest and land fire at Petuk Katimpun in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, on August 17, 2026. — AFP pic

First Published: Sunday, 23 Aug 2026 9:00 PM MYT

PALANGKARAYA, Aug 23 — Dressed as his favourite superhero, Indonesian teenager Rudiyansah walks along a charred landscape, helping douse wildfires that have razed large parts of Borneo island.

The South-east Asian country has been battling infernos that have left a thick, blanketing smog over parts of the island that Indonesia shares with Malaysia and Brunei.

Rudiyansah’s red and blue Superman costume stood out against the stark, scorched landscape surrounding the town of Palangkaraya, where he has joined a local volunteer firefighting group set up by his father to put out smouldering peatland.

The 17-year-old told AFP he has been using his free time after school to help his father douse fires since 2023.

But this year, he decided to don the brightly coloured tights when fighting fires, creating a striking image that has drawn attention to the struggle to contain the blazes.

While Rudiyansah said dressing as the Man of Steel was “just for fun”, video of him using a hose to wet foliage has gone viral, garnering millions of views and earning him the title of “forest hero” from the country’s forestry minister.

“Honestly, I’m really happy because I can help locals, even though it feels really tiring,” Rudiyansah, who like many Indonesians only uses one name, told AFP on Sunday while still wearing his cape.

He said that he wet his costume slightly before heading into the fields to prevent it from burning, and washed it every night to keep it clean.

‘Normal kid’

His father, Mulyadi, told AFP the haze from this year’s fire season was the worst his volunteer firefighter group had seen since it was established in 2020.

“In the house, he’s like a normal kid,” he said when asked about his cape-clad son.

“But when he saw me going out, he asked, ‘Are you going to put out fires? I’ll go with you,’” he said.

The lack of water was the main challenge for firefighters, Mulyadi said, with wells and other water sources drying up during drought.

Fires between January and July burned more than 200,000 hectares of land — an area three times the size of the capital Jakarta, the government said this week.

That is already larger than during previous El Nino seasons — a weather pattern that triggers worldwide changes in winds, atmospheric pressure and rainfall — in 2019 and 2023.

The government has ordered more troop and aircraft deployments to help contain the spread of the blazes and smog, which has reached Malaysia.

El Nino is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that typically brings drought, which increased the risks of wildfires, in Indonesia.

Human-caused climate change can amplify its impacts because a warmer ocean and atmosphere make more energy and moisture available to feed extreme weather events.

Rudiyansah, who dreams of becoming a forest ranger someday, called on firefighters to carry on despite the challenges in putting out the fires.

“To volunteers and firefighters across Indonesia, keep up the spirit in the fight against the flames,” he said. — AFP