Bromo Fire Chronology: From Sariwani Village to Total Closure
The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) has decided to completely close all tourist access to Mount Bromo starting Saturday night (8/8). The move was taken after forest and land fires that have been occurring since early August 2026 continued to spread into the caldera area.
Based on data collected up to Sunday (9/8), the affected area was reported to have reached approximately 176 hectares. The fire has burned savanna vegetation, mountain cypress, acacia, and calliandra. Steep terrain and very dry vegetation conditions have been the main obstacles for the joint team in extinguishing the fire.
The incident began on Monday (3/8) when the first hotspot was reported to have appeared around Sariwani Village, Sukapura District, Probolinggo. At that time, the burned area was still monitored at around 10 hectares. As an initial step, TNBTS authorities immediately closed tourist access from the Malang and Lumajang directions.
Entering Tuesday (4/8) to Wednesday (5/8), joint officers from TNBTS, BPBD, TNI, Polri, and volunteers carried out ground firefighting. Although several points were extinguished, the fire continued to move towards the Bantengan Block to Pusung Jantur due to strong winds.
On Thursday (6/8), the situation became increasingly critical with the burned area reaching 60 hectares. Difficult access on steep terrain forced the deployment of two water bombing helicopters to assist with firefighting from the air.
TNBTS has given an initial assumption that the fire was triggered by human activity. There are indications that individuals made a campfire on the traditional Argosari-Ranupane route and left embers that were not fully extinguished. However, this is still under investigation and has not become an official conclusion.
As a result of the fire spreading to the Bromo Caldera, as of Saturday (8/8) at 22.00 WIB, all official tourist entrances have been closed. The affected areas include Cemorolawang, Wonokitri, Jemplang, Coban Trisula, and Senduro.
The August 2026 fire has a different chronology from the prewedding flare incident that occurred in September 2023. Currently, the main focus of officers is accelerating firefighting through ground and air routes, as well as creating firebreaks.
As of the time this report was filed, hundreds of officers remain on standby in the field with the assistance of drones to monitor the movement of hotspots in real-time.
The Malang Regency BPBD revealed that hot weather, strong winds, and slope terrain are the main obstacles in fighting the fire in the Mount Bromo area.