152 Hikers Evacuated During Mount Sumbing Fire
A total of 152 hikers on Mount Sumbing were successfully evacuated during a forest and land fire in the area.
Wonosobo Police confirmed that all hikers had been evacuated and none had been left behind.
Wonosobo Police Chief AKBP Ricky Pripurna Atmaja said confirmation came after the joint team received a report from the Gajah Mungkur Base Camp in Lamuk village, Kalikajar district, at 11.30 pm on Monday. The names of all those who had descended were then checked against registration records.
“Thankfully, all 152 hikers have come down. After checking them against the registration records, we confirmed that no one was missing. They are all in good health, and none suffered accidents or injuries,” he said on Tuesday (20 October).
During the evacuation, Wonosobo Police coordinated with a joint team involving the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Kalikajar Community Health Centre, base camp managers, the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and other relevant parties. Hikers’ safety was the top priority in responding to the situation.
Ricky said one mitigation measure was to close Mount Sumbing’s hiking routes through several base camps. Police also coordinated with Temanggung Police and Magelang City Police to ensure the closures were applied across the relevant jurisdictions, as the hiking area falls under different police jurisdictions.
The joint team also set up a central command post at Gajah Mungkur Base Camp. It served as a hub for coordinating the response, monitoring information and receiving enquiries from hikers’ families.
To support the evacuation, the joint team and the BPBD prepared emergency response measures. Forty base camp ranger personnel were deployed to collect hikers from Post III.
The collection operation required extra time and effort. The journey from Post III to the base camp was estimated to take about six hours, while slippery trail conditions posed an additional challenge for personnel on the ground.
Despite these difficulties, all hikers made it down safely. Ricky reiterated that their safety remained the authorities’ main focus during the response to the forest and land fire.
“At present, all the hikers are safe. Our priority is to ensure their safety first. We have taken various mitigation measures and coordinated across jurisdictions to prevent a greater risk,” he said.
Meanwhile, the forest and land fire in the Mount Sumbing area had yet to be extinguished. Ricky said efforts to tackle it would continue in coordination with relevant agencies, including the Central Java Regional Police, to secure further support.