Bromo Fire Expands, TNBTS Builds 10-Metre Firebreaks to Prevent Spread

The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Authority (Balai Besar TNBTS) is adopting a firebreak strategy to hold back a forest fire that continues to spread across the Mount Bromo area. The move comes after flames from the Bantengan Block began creeping towards the savanna.

As of Tuesday, 4 August 2026, a joint team was still struggling to extinguish the fire affecting the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park area. Steep terrain, parched vegetation and gusts of wind remain the main challenges in the suppression effort.

Endrip Wahyutama, Public Relations Officer at the TNBTS Authority, said the fire points previously located in the Bantengan Block and Jantur in Lumajang Regency have now moved downhill towards the savanna of Mount Bromo.

“The latest report from the field team is that the fire is about to spread into the savanna,” Endrip said when met at the TNBTS Authority office on Jalan Raden Intan, Malang City, on Tuesday (4/8/2026).

To prevent the blaze from spreading further into other areas, the TNBTS Authority is creating firebreaks at several points deemed vulnerable to the passage of flames.

The firebreaks are made by clearing or cutting vegetation along the fire’s path, creating empty spaces that can impede its spread.

Endrip explained that the firebreaks being built range from five to ten metres in width.

“To keep the affected area from expanding, we are creating firebreaks five to ten metres wide,” he said.

According to him, the method is one of the important steps in forest fire control, particularly during the dry season when vegetation is dry and highly flammable.

Beyond building firebreaks, the joint team is also carrying out direct suppression using the ‘gebyok’ method and jet shooter equipment to reduce the fire’s intensity on the ground.

Endrip said the combination of methods has so far been considered fairly effective in slowing the fire’s spread.

“So far, the firebreaks have been quite effective, alongside suppression using the gebyok system assisted by jet shooters,” he said.

Nevertheless, fire control operations are still ongoing, as conditions in the field are not yet fully safe.