[3] Natural Resource and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said open burning by farmers are the main cause of the fire and haze.

[4][5] Meanwhile, the Beaufort District Officer Mohd Shaid Othman said that the fires were caused by greedy hunters who wanted to search for deer easily.

[7] However, the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) dismissed the claims of the Beaufort District Officer as the areas has poor presence of animals.

[9] The forest fires have resulted in the closing of 77 schools in the West Coast Division with effect to health with the increase in respiratory related illness.

[17] The haze also made the Sabah state government urging the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for cloud seeding as air quality continued to be worsened.