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

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has confirmed that joint officer teams in four regencies of Central Java Province are still battling to extinguish forest and land fires. Head of the BNPB Data, Information, and Communication Centre for Disaster, Abdul Muhari, reported on Tuesday that the strenuous efforts of joint personnel from the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Fire Service, TNI/Polri, and other relevant agencies are focused on fire incidents in the Klaten, Grobogan, Blora, and Wonogiri regencies. According to a report received by the BNPB Operations Control Directorate, the fire in Klaten occurred on Monday (27/7). The one-hectare blaze in paddy fields in Srimulyo Hamlet, Kaligawe Village, Pedan District, was allegedly triggered by uncontrolled waste burning by residents before it was eventually extinguished manually by the BPBD and Fire Service. Meanwhile, in Grobogan Regency, the joint team had to work extra hard to put out a 3.4-hectare fire in Prigi Village, Kedungjati District, and Kaliwenang Village, Tanggungharjo District. Abdul stated that the incident, which started from the burning of post-harvest maize residue on Monday afternoon, was quickly responded to by the Grobogan BPBD by creating firebreaks to prevent the flames from spreading further. In addition to Klaten and Grobogan, the forest and land fire dynamics in Central Java also involved intensive handling of sugarcane field fires in Blora and Wonogiri regencies, each burning one hectare of land. The land fire in Blora is not a new occurrence this July. The BNPB noted that on Wednesday (22/7), a fire had scorched three hectares of land in two separate locations. The first fire hit a sugarcane field area in Kalangan Village, Tunjungan District, followed by a bamboo grove fire in Kebonrejo Village, Banjarejo District, which was finally fully extinguished on Thursday (23/7). He stated that this series of events underscores the need for local governments, including Central Java, to be fully prepared to respond to the vulnerability caused by the lack of rainfall during this dry season, as it increases the potential for new fire spots to emerge.