A joint team from various agencies has been deployed to tackle a\nforest and land fire on the slopes of Mount Ciremai National Park\n(TNGC), in Pasawahan, Kuningan Regency, West Java. The blaze has been\nburning since Wednesday (21 October) evening.<\/p>\n
Aerial firefighting, or water-bombing, is being considered as an\noption for containing the fire.<\/p>\n
Kuningan Regent Dian Rachmat Yanuar said the response had been\nreinforced with personnel from the Indonesian Military (TNI), National\nPolice, Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), state forestry\ncompany Perhutani, fire services and community fire groups, as well as\nadditional personnel from Majalengka and Cirebon regencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the fire spreads to steep, rocky slopes, extinguishing it from\nthe ground becomes extremely difficult and dangerous,\u201d he said in\nKuningan on Thursday (22 October), as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
He said the steep, rocky terrain was the main obstacle preventing\ncrews from reaching the fire, while dry vegetation and gusts of wind\nwere accelerating its spread.<\/p>\n
Dian said Kuningan Regency Government had also coordinated with the\nWest Java Provincial Government to seek helicopter support for\nwater-bombing operations, to reach areas inaccessible to ground\ncrews.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have been working there around the clock, day and night, for\nthe past two days. The province has therefore provided an incentive as a\nform of support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said additional personnel would be stationed at the incident\ncommand post on a rotating basis to ensure firefighting operations could\ncontinue without interruption.<\/p>\n
Alongside strengthening firefighting operations, the local government\nhas prepared a medical team from a nearby community health centre to\nmonitor the condition of personnel and volunteers still working on the\nslopes.<\/p>\n
Dian urged residents not to burn rubbish indiscriminately or do\nanything else that could start a fire while the weather remained\ndry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe once again urge the public not to burn rubbish carelessly and to\nbe alert to cigarette ends. The trees and grass along the hiking routes\nare very dry and can easily catch fire, especially when the wind is\nblowing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As of Thursday evening, efforts to contain the fire were continuing\nthrough ground operations and the construction of firebreaks. The blaze,\nfirst detected on Wednesday evening, had grown from an estimated five\nhectares to dozens of hectares.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Cirebon Regency\u2019s Regional Disaster Management Agency\n(BPBD) sent a joint team to assist with the wildfire response on Mount\nCiremai.<\/p>\n
Cirebon BPBD executive secretary Syamsul Huda said in Cirebon on\nThursday that the deployment followed instructions from the Cirebon\nRegency Regional Secretary to support firefighting in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cCirebon Regency has deployed 48 personnel. They come from the BPBD,\nFire and Rescue Service and Disaster Preparedness Cadets (Tagana), and\nwill assist the response on the ground,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Cirebon BPBD has also supplied equipment, including portable\nwater pumps, water storage containers and tanks, as well as provisions\nfor crews on duty.<\/p>\n
Limited water and strong winds<\/strong><\/p>\n According to detikJabar, the scarcity of water and strong winds have\ncontributed to the fire\u2019s spread since it was first detected at 8.44pm\non Wednesday.<\/p>\n Asep, public relations officer for the Silihwangi Majakuning\nCommunity Fire Group (MPA), said the wildfire on Mount Ciremai had\ncontinued to expand overnight.<\/p>\n The fire had initially been confined to the forest boundary near Seda\nvillage, but by 4am it had spread west towards Yanggo Block in Cibuntu\nvillage, Pasawahan, Kuningan Regency.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fire is still not under control and remains large, moving west\ntowards the upper area, where there is a wilderness zone. They said the\nfirst spot was in Seda; since 4am it has spread to Yanggo Block in\nCibuntu village,\u201d Asep said on Thursday, as quoted by detikJabar.<\/p>\n Asep said the spread was being fuelled by the lack of water\nreservoirs and the distance to natural water sources. Strong winds and\ndifficult access were also making the blaze hard to contain.<\/p>\n \u201cThe wind is quite strong. There are no water points available, there\nis no reservoir, and the natural water sources are far away. The route\nto the site is also steep: it is a footpath that vehicles cannot use. It\nwas dark last night, too,\u201d Asep said.<\/p>\n Because of these constraints, volunteers were still fighting the\nflames manually, using tree branches and building firebreaks to stop the\nfire spreading.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Cibuntu there is no reservoir, and the water source is far away.\nSo they are beating the flames with branches. The capacity of the jet\nshooters is limited, and they are mostly making firebreaks to stop the\nspread. Dozens of members of the Community Fire Groups from six villages\nare there now,\u201d Asep said.<\/p>\n Asep said the cause of the fire was not yet known. However, because\nit began at night in an area where non-timber forest products are\ngathered, there was speculation that it may have been deliberately\nset.<\/p>\n \u201cThe forest farmer group went down at 5pm and said there was no fire\nthen. We suspect that might be the case because it is near an area for\nnon-timber forest products, which forest farmer groups commonly work. It\nseems someone may have deliberately set the fire, but we do not know\nwhy. We are still trying to work out why the forest was burned,\u201d Asep\nsaid.<\/p>\n TNGC data, evaluation, reporting and public relations co-ordinator\nEska Nata Suryana said park staff, volunteers and local residents were\ncontinuing to fight the fire.<\/p>\n Official footage released by Mount Ciremai National Park showed\nflames still burning in the forest, with thick white smoke covering the\nforest and land on the mountain.<\/p>",
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