JAKARTA — Forest and land fires have scorched nearly 660 hectares across two national parks in Indonesia, as firefighting operations continued for a fourth day today, according to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).

BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Centre acting head Berton Panjaitan said about 600 hectares had been affected at Way Kambas National Park in East Lampung, Sumatra, and 59.5 hectares at Mount Merapi National Park in Magelang, Central Java, since the fires broke out on Tuesday.

At Way Kambas, he said firefighting efforts continued on Thursday but were hampered by difficult access, limited water supplies and the considerable distance between fire points and water sources.

“Unsupervised burning activities can spread rapidly when vegetation is dry, particularly when accompanied by strong winds,” Berton said in a statement today.

At Mount Merapi National Park, the fire burned grass and pine trees, with drone monitoring showing that about 59.5 hectares of forest were affected between September 22 and 24.