Bromo Fire Continues to Spread, Malang BPBD Awaits BNPB Water Bombing Assistance

The Malang Regency Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) in East Java has stated that extreme hot weather and strong winds are the main obstacles in handling forest fires in the Mount Bromo area. The vegetation conditions, consisting of leaf litter and dry shrubs, have caused the fire to spread rapidly to various points.

Head of Emergency and Logistics at Malang Regency BPBD, Sadono Irawan, explained that these weather factors caused the fire to spread to the border area of Malang, specifically in the Jemplang area. In addition to weather factors, the geographical conditions dominated by steep slopes have made it difficult for officers to extinguish the fire via land routes.

“Because the area is covered with leaf litter or shrubs that are highly flammable, and it is also influenced by hot weather and strong winds,” said Sadono in Malang on Thursday (6/8).

To anticipate the expansion of fire hotspots, joint officers are currently intensifying containment efforts by creating firebreaks at strategic points. Firefighting efforts have also begun to involve aerial technology to reach areas that are difficult for ground personnel to access.

Sadono mentioned that his team is trying to use a drone belonging to the East Java Provincial BPBD to carry out water spraying. Meanwhile, regarding the plan to use water bombing helicopters from BNPB, the Malang BPBD is still awaiting further coordination and information from the provincial level.

BPBD data records that the fire initially occurred on Monday (3/8) at around 17.00 WIB in Blok Bantengan, Senduro District, Lumajang Regency. The fire then spread to Watu Gede in Probolinggo and reached Jemplang, which is only 1.5 kilometres from the Malang Regency border, on Wednesday (5/8).

Due to the situation that has not yet been brought under control, the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Agency (TNBTS) has completely closed three tourist access routes since Wednesday night at 22.00 WIB. The closed routes include access via Jemplang and Coban Trisula in Malang Regency, as well as the Senduro route in Lumajang Regency, until an unspecified time.