In the midst of the environmental emergency that is plaguing the island of Borneo, the seventeen-year-old Indonesian Rudiyansah has attracted the attention of the international media by transforming himself into the Hero of the forest. Residing near the city of Palangka Raya, in the province of Central Kalimantan, the teenager wears a red cape and Superman costume every afternoon to support the local firefighters in putting out the flames. An initiative born alongside his father Mulyadi, a firefighting volunteer, which transformed the boy into a point of reference for the community and into a viral phenomenon on social platforms with millions of views.
Fifteen-year-old Rudiansyah has spent every dry season watching wildfires march toward his home in the outskirts of Palangkaraya, Indonesia. This year, as El Niño turned the blazes brutal, he decided to fight back — wearing a Superman costume pic.twitter.com/v7bWadvPRe
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 14, 2026
The daily routine and tricks against the heat
Instead of spending his free time playing video games or smartphones after school hours, Rudiyansah regularly joins rescue teams working in the field. To face the extreme heat without risking his own safety, the young man adopts a specific precaution: carefully wet the fabric of his costume before approaching the fires and wash it every evening to keep it ready for use.
The choice to combine the fire hose work with the superhero outfit arose spontaneously when father Mulyadi was preparing for a fire containment mission. The boy’s commitment aroused the appreciation of the Indonesian Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni, who publicly awarded him the title of national hero.
Siang ini di Petuk Katimpun, Palangka Raya, saya bertemu Rudiansyah, remaja 17 tahun yang viral karena turun langsung membantu memadamkan Karhutla dengan mengenakan kostum Superman. pic.twitter.com/JAGqKCdruJ
— DPMD KALTENG (@dpmdkalteng) August 23, 2026
The environmental crisis in Kalimantan and the data on the fires
The young man’s action is part of a dramatic climate context for Indonesia. Between January and July 2026, the combination of prolonged drought linked to the El Niño phenomenon and the shortage of water sources led to the destruction of over 200,000 hectares of land, an area three times the size of the capital Jakarta.
Firefighters face the systematic drying of wells, while a blanket of thick smoke continues to hang over the vegetation. To contain the emergency, the government has ordered the dispatch of military contingents and firefighting aircraft. Despite the environmental difficulties, Rudiyansah continues his support activities in the area and has declared that he intends to pursue a career as a forest ranger in the future.
