Bromo Fire Expands to 899 Hectares

The forest and land fire in the Mount Bromo area of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) has continued to expand, reaching 899 hectares as of Tuesday (12/8). East Java Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) Chief Executive Gatot Soebroto stated that a joint task force is maximising water bombing operations today to suppress the spread of the flames. The aerial operations are focused on the Dingklik area in Pasuruan and P30 in Probolinggo. “Water bombing is being carried out in Dingklik Pasuruan and P30 Probolinggo. The current condition in the Bromo area is foggy. The area affected by the fire from the beginning until last night is 899 hectares,” Gatot said when confirmed. However, Gatot revealed that the water bombing operations have not been running optimally due to several obstacles in the field. One of them is the limited availability of water sources, which are located quite far from the fire hotspots. In addition, Gatot said weather conditions pose a particular challenge, as strong winds and rapidly changing weather complicate the aerial firefighting process. “The water sources are far, the wind is strong and the weather is changeable, the topography is steep, and there is plenty of fuel in the form of very dry and flammable Imperata grass and leaf litter,” he explained. To strengthen the firefighting efforts, the government is also intensifying ground operations. Since yesterday, the joint team has deployed two fire engines, two water tanker trucks, one L300 vehicle carrying a water tank, and one drone water spray unit. The Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture visited the Bromo fire handling command post on Tuesday afternoon. Both officials provided direct instructions to optimise all available forces, including personnel from the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the National Police (Polri), as well as other related teams. Gatot concluded that firefighting efforts will be strengthened by combining ground teams and water bombing operations to control the hotspots that still have the potential to spread. The fire in the Bromo area first broke out on Monday (3/8) at around 17:00 WIB. Following the spread of the flames, the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) authority temporarily closed all tourist access to the Mount Bromo area starting Saturday (8/8) evening.