Central Java Governor Ahmad Luthfi said efforts to tackle the fire on\nMount Lawu had been stepped up following the declaration of an emergency\nresponse status by the Karanganyar Regency Government.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe regent has coordinated with us. The status has been raised to\ndisaster emergency. There are also two military helicopters that will\nlater be operated by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB),\u201d\nLuthfi said in a written statement on Tuesday (20 October 2026).<\/p>\n
Luthfi made the remarks after inspecting the operations of the Merah\nPutih Village Cooperative in Bergas, Semarang Regency, on Tuesday (20\nOctober).<\/p>\n
He said aerial firefighting, or water bombing, had been carried out\nin two sorties. The operation had been hampered by strong winds and\nweather conditions that made it difficult for helicopters to\nmanoeuvre.<\/p>\n
According to incident reports, the fire on Mount Lawu had affected\naround 230 hectares of forest in Gondosuli village, Tawangmangu\ndistrict. Joint teams were also fighting the fire manually and creating\nfirebreaks to prevent it from spreading.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the fire on Mount Sumbing was in the area of Lamuk\nvillage, Kalikajar district, Wonosobo regency. The area burned was still\nbeing assessed. A total of 152 hikers had reportedly been evacuated from\nthe area.<\/p>\n
Luthfi said firefighting on Mount Sumbing was temporarily being\nconducted from the ground while authorities awaited aerial support,\ntaking into account the fire\u2019s development and conditions at the\nsite.<\/p>\n
In addition to intensifying firefighting, Luthfi asked the police to\ninvestigate the cause of the fires. He said he had coordinated with the\nCentral Java Regional Police to determine whether they had been started\ndeliberately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have also coordinated with the Regional Police Chief and his staff\nto conduct an investigation. We must ensure there was no deliberate\nact,\u201d Luthfi stressed.<\/p>\n
Luthfi also urged the public to be more vigilant, particularly when\nvisiting forests and mountainous areas. Open burning and carelessly\ndiscarding cigarette ends should be avoided because they could trigger\nfires.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy hope is that I urge the public to maximise efforts to prevent\nfires,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/central-java-government-intensifies-efforts-to-extinguish-forest-fires-on-mount-lawu-and-mount-sumbing-1792495219", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }