Bromo Fire Still Raging, TNBTS Relies on Water-Spraying Drones While Awaiting BNPB Helicopter

The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) Centre is intensifying efforts to extinguish forest and land fires that have hit the Mount Bromo area. Amid difficult-to-reach terrain and limited water sources, officers are now relying on water-spraying drone technology from the East Java Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) while awaiting the arrival of a water-bombing helicopter from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).

Head of the TNBTS Centre, Rudijanta Tjahja Nugraha, said the use of drones is a temporary solution to speed up the aerial extinguishing process. This step was taken because access to the fire hotspots is quite difficult, while water sources are located far from the fire sites.

‘We are relying on extinguishing efforts from the water drone operated by the East Java BPBD. The water-bombing plan has been discussed with the Head of BNPB and we are waiting for the helicopter to arrive,’ Rudijanta said in the Bromo area on Thursday, 6 August 2026.

The water-spraying drone deployed by the East Java BPBD has a water-carrying capacity of up to 150 litres per flight. According to Rudijanta, the use of drones greatly assists the extinguishing process because they can reach areas that are difficult for ground officers to access.

The geographical conditions of the Mount Bromo area, which are dominated by hills, pose the main challenge in firefighting operations. In addition, limited water sources mean the extinguishing process takes longer. Joint officers must collect water from a location quite far away before returning to the fire hotspots. The estimated round-trip travel time from the fire location to the water source is around one hour.

‘We have to collect water and it is relatively time-consuming; the round trip from the fire location to the water source takes about an hour,’ he said.

In addition to optimising the drones, TNBTS is also waiting for aerial firefighting support using a water-bombing helicopter from BNPB. Rudijanta said that based on the latest information he received, the helicopter has moved towards Banjarmasin and will then fly to Surabaya before being deployed to the Malang area to support the extinguishing operation. The presence of the helicopter is expected to accelerate the handling process, especially for reaching areas that are difficult for ground officers and drones to access.