BNPB Provides Latest Update on Forest Fires at Mount Bromo

The Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Suharyanto, stated that efforts to extinguish forest and land fires in the Mount Bromo area within the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) have been expanded to two new hotspots today. “So, currently, extinguishing efforts are still underway. Yesterday there were 34 hotspots, now there are two more at B30 on the border of Probolinggo and Malang, and another in the valley. Hopefully, it can be resolved today,” Suharyanto told reporters in Jakarta on Monday, 10 August 2026. He confirmed that the TNBTS area remains closed for safety reasons, while firefighting operations continue to be expanded to the spreading fire spots. “TNBTS is still closed until we are completely sure it is safe. We will continue to monitor the conditions for at least a week, then evaluate. If there are no more fires, it may be reopened soon,” he said. Suharyanto explained that the El Niño heat phenomenon increases the risk of forest and land fires, particularly in savanna areas dominated by dry vegetation such as grass and shrubs, like those in the Mount Bromo region. “During El Niño, it is hot. Fortunately, it has not yet reached its peak. Previously, during the peak in 2023, three mountains in East Java caught fire: Bromo, Arjuno, and Lawu. Now, in 2026, the mountains on fire are Pangrango, Rinjani, and Bromo. Hopefully, it will not be like 2023,” the BNPB Head said. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Forestry revealed that weather modification operations to assist in extinguishing the fires in TNBTS cannot yet be carried out. The Director General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation at the Ministry of Forestry, Satyawan Pudyatmoko, told ANTARA at the Angke Nature Tourism Park in Jakarta on Monday that the obstacle is due to the lack of convective clouds forming in the Bromo area, which are a prerequisite for such operations.