Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordered a crackdown against individuals and companies responsible for forest fires that have caused a dangerous haze in parts of Southeast Asia, disrupting air travel and closure of schools.

Jokowi, as Widodo is commonly known, held a limited cabinet meeting in Pekanbaru in Riau, one of the worst affected areas, late on Monday to review steps to fight the fires, his office said in a statement. The president directed the disaster mitigation agency to expand the scope of artificial rain even as authorities deployed an additional 5,600 troops and firefighters.

Stinging smoke from illegal burning to clear land for palm oil and paper plantations has covered…