Indonesia plans restoration assessment after fire damages Toraja tombs
The cause remains unconfirmed after flames reached cliffside burial sites in North Toraja, South Sulawesi.
Indonesia’s Culture Ministry will send a team to assess damage to Toraja rock tombs after a forest and land fire in North Toraja, South Sulawesi. Culture Minister Fadli Zon said the findings would guide plans to restore the affected cultural sites.
Speaking to reporters in Makassar on 27 October 2026, Fadli said officials were gathering information to determine what recovery work could be undertaken. He said the cause of the fire still needed to be established.
The blaze was reported from 23 to 24 October in Salurea Rangri hamlet, Baruppu Utara, in North Toraja’s Baruppu district. Flames reached a cliff containing traditional burial chambers known as liang.
Riantho Yusuf Sangkelo, head of North Toraja’s public order and fire services agency, told detikSulsel on 25 October that the tombs were spread across three locations. He also reported that coffins had caught fire.
Riantho said residents had reportedly seen someone suspected of starting the fire before fleeing, but the person’s identity remained unknown. Fadli separately said fires could result from human activity or natural conditions, including prolonged El Nino conditions. He did not confirm either as the cause of this blaze.
