January 29, 2026
PENGERANG, JOHOR – Wading through knee-deep swamp waters and loose soil under the scorching weather, firefighters were racing against time to snuff out a peat fire that had been raging underground for more than five days in the Punggai area of Pengerang, Johor.
Less than 150m away, in the Taman Bayu Damai neighbourhood, rows of homes lay shrouded in thick white smoke. The air was flecked with tiny black particles of ash, and the smell of burning made breathing difficult.
For the 153 residents of the small coastal township in the south-eastern tip of Peninsular Malaysia, it was the first time they had ever had to evacuate their homes because of a wildfire.
“I really hope God will bring down the rain and wash the fire out,” said Ms Angel Tan, 35, visibly emotional as she spoke to The Straits Times at her home just 200m away from the peatland.
“One of my sons started coughing a few days ago, and I’ve booked a hotel nearby so he can stay away from the smoke. I’m worried that my two sons will get sick and won’t recover in time for Chinese New Year,” said the administrative executive, whose doorway was already adorned with festive decorations. Her sons are 12 and nine years old.
Smoke from the peat fire, about 30km away from neighbouring Singapore, has resulted in haze in the eastern parts of the Republic as well as several areas in Johor in recent days.
Unlike typical wildfires that burn above ground, peat fires involve the slow burning of organic material underground.
Dr Lim Teckwyn, forest researcher and managing director at Malaysia-based Resource Stewardship Consultants, said peatlands are freshwater swamps with a deep layer of dead wood and leaves, but during dry seasons, the peat dries out and may burn in hot weather.
The peat fire, burning on a forested plot of land along Jalan Sungai Kapal near Taman Bayu Damai since Jan 23, was reported on Jan 26 as spanning 12ha, but had grown to 99ha the next day. Officials say the fire was caused by dry and hot weather, and fanned by strong winds.
“Dry peat burns well, and peat fires can smoulder underground, being hard to put out,” said Dr Lim.
The Pengerang peat fire was one of several wildfires reported in Johor. On Jan 27, a Johor fire and rescue department official told ST that there were 71 wildfire cases reported across 10 districts in the state the day before.
In Pengerang, local municipal council president Norazmi Amir Hamzah told ST on Jan 27 that there were three major wildfires in the district – Kampung Lepau, Bukit Tuatau and Taman Bayu Damai along Jalan Sungai Kapal.
“The wildfires in Kampung Lepau and Bukit Tuatau have been extinguished, but the most critical one is Taman Bayu Damai,” he said.
Smoke emissions from the wildfire have led the state health department to direct nearby schools to halt all outdoor activities.
“Our students were supposed to be training today and tomorrow (Jan 29) for a sports competition next week, but all that has been cancelled till further notice,” said Madam Siti Noor Rohani, 53, sports secretary of Tanjung Datuk Secondary School located 760m from ground zero.
Meanwhile, municipal officers said they would warn Taman Bayu Damai residents who have chosen to stay put to vacate to nearby shelters should smoke from the peat fire enter their homes.
Resident Mohd Nadzly Md Iunus, 42, who evacuated to a temporary shelter set up in a multi-purpose hall in Taman Bayu Damai, said past wildfires occurred much farther up north, such as in Kota Tinggi.
“This is the first time we were evacuated due to wildfires,” he said. “In previous years, evacuations were usually due to floods.”
Racing against time
Federal resources have also been tapped to help fight the fire. On Jan 28, a Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department Mi-17 helicopter was deployed from the central airbase in Subang, Selangor.
Several hours later, it was circling the peat fire site, taking in water from a nearby lake and releasing it over the raging underground fires.
Fire department officials at a mobile operation centre told ST that some 52 per cent of the peat fire had been “extinguished” but worry that their efforts may be undone by the continuing weather.
“The challenge is the dry weather and the strong winds, which may reignite the fires that we had put out previously,” said Johor Fire and Rescue Department deputy director and assistant fire commissioner Muhammad Al Mustakim Abdul Hady.
ST went with the firefighters to the peat fire site and found large swathes of scorched and burnt vegetation and smoke curling from the burning ground. Firefighters had set up eight sprinkler systems to flood the area in a bid to extinguish the underground burn.
“One challenge operating in this terrain is that the loose soil caused by the fire may cause us to sink to knee-deep levels,” said fire superintendent Rasidi Yunos, 45.
The firefighters’ efforts are further hampered by issues related to land ownership. At the mobile operations centre near the peat fire, an animated discussion was ongoing between fire commanders and a government official regarding potential land damage as a result of firefighting operations.
ST understands that the 99ha site of the fire consists of several privately owned plots of land.
Assistant fire commissioner Al Mustakim said his officers intend to create a diagonal clearing north of the incident site so that their water pumps can draw water from a nearby lake.
“For this to be done, we need to explain it to the land department officials so that they may convey this information to the land owners,” he said.
“If we simply cut through the land without notice or permission from the land owner, and if the land owner isn’t happy about it, it could be a problem for us in future.”
Pengerang’s air quality was “moderate” with a reading of 53 as at 4pm on Jan 28, based on Malaysia’s Environmental Department Air Pollutant Index Management System.
Across the strait in Singapore, air quality was in the “normal” band, the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) website showed. As at 9pm, PM2.5 levels, referring to fine inhalable particles in the air measuring up to 2.5 micrometres in diameter, were at 15 in the central part of Singapore and 10 in the eastern part.
Earlier, NEA had noted in a Jan 24 statement that the “faint burnt smell” reported by Singapore residents in the eastern part of the island was “likely due to a hot spot and smoke plume in Johor that is near to Singapore”.