Indonesia steps up response to massive forest fires

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Forest fires burning throughout Indonesia have prompted six provinces to declare a state of emergency and deploy thousands of security forces.
Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said Thursday that firefighting measures went full force including aerial water drops in anticipation of worsening forest fires that each year spread health-damaging haze across much of Southeast Asia.
He says 6,000 personnel have been deployed to douse the