BNPB: Four Regencies in Central Java Battle Forest and Land Fires

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has confirmed that joint teams of personnel in four regencies in Central Java Province are still struggling to extinguish forest and land fires (karhutla).

Head of BNPB’s Disaster Data, Information and Communication Centre, Abdul Muhari, reported in Jakarta on Tuesday that the concerted efforts of combined personnel from the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the fire brigade (Damkar), the TNI/Polri and all relevant agencies include handling fire incidents in the regencies of Klaten, Grobogan, Blora and Wonogiri.

Based on a report received by the BNPB Operations Control Directorate, the fire in Klaten occurred on Monday (27 July). The one-hectare fire in paddy fields in Srimulyo Hamlet, Kaligawe Village, Pedan Subdistrict, was allegedly triggered by residents burning waste in an uncontrolled manner, and was eventually brought under control manually by the BPBD and Damkar.

Meanwhile, in Grobogan Regency, the joint team also had to work extra hard to extinguish a 3.4-hectare fire in Prigi Village, Kedungjati Subdistrict, and Kaliwenang Village, Tanggungharjo Subdistrict.

According to Abdul, the incident, which began with the burning of post-harvest maize residue on Monday (27 July) at midday, was swiftly responded to by the Grobogan BPBD through the creation of firebreaks to prevent the flames from spreading further.

Beyond Klaten and Grobogan, the dynamics of forest and land fires in Central Java have also involved intensive handling on sugarcane land in Blora Regency as well as in Wonogiri, each of which burned one hectare of land.

The land fire in Blora was not the first during this month of July. BNPB recorded that on Wednesday (22 July), fire had scorched three hectares of land in two separate locations.

The first fire hit a sugarcane plantation area in Kalangan Village, Tunjungan Subdistrict, followed by a fire in a bamboo grove in Kebonrejo Village, Banjarejo Subdistrict, which was eventually extinguished completely on Thursday (23 July).

He stated that this series of events underscores that regional governments, including Central Java, must be fully prepared to respond swiftly to the vulnerability caused by minimal rainfall during this dry season, as it increases the potential for fire hotspots to re-emerge.