The lofty lights of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, dim under a cloud of smoke blown in from the forests of Borneo and Sumatra, the site of most of Indonesia's unchecked fires. Desperate officials ordered that all high-rise buildings have water sprayed from their heights to dissipate the choking haze. At worst, before rains came in November and doused the fires, the pall spread over eight countries and 75 million people, covering an area larger than Europe.