Bromo Forest Fire Forces Closure of Three Tourist Access Points

A forest and land fire (karhutla) was reported to have swept through the Bantengan Block of the Mount Bromo area on Monday afternoon (3/8).

Three tourist access routes to the Mount Bromo area were closed as a result of the incident.

The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Authority (BB TNBTS) closed several tourist entrances to Bromo, namely Jemplang and Coban Trisula in Malang Regency, as well as Senduro in Lumajang Regency, East Java.

Head of BB TNBTS Rudijanta Tjahja Nugraha explained that the closures were imposed to maximise the firefighting process while ensuring the safety of all tourists visiting the Bromo area.

“To ensure the smooth running of firefighting efforts and with due regard to visitor safety, visits to Bromo through the Jemplang, Coban Trisula and Senduro entrances are closed to visitors,” Rudi said on Monday evening.

Based on preliminary information from BB TNBTS, the fire in the Bantengan Block was first detected at around 17:00 local time. The closure of the three access routes took effect at 22:00 local time, for an indefinite period.

Rudi added that although three entrances were closed, the public could still access the Mount Bromo area through other routes, namely Cemoro Lawang in Probolinggo Regency and Wonokitri in Pasuruan Regency.

However, visitors entering through those two gates are only permitted to reach the Sea of Sand area and are prohibited from travelling further into the Savanna zone.

He also urged residents, tourists and tourism operators to help protect the TNBTS area by complying with the rules in force while within the site.

“Please be mindful of the use of fire for the sake of shared safety, security and comfort,” he said.

Separately, BB TNBTS public relations officer Endrip Wahyutama said the authority could not yet confirm the size of the burnt area in the Bantengan Block because the field team was still focused on extinguishing the fire.

“Not yet — the team is still focused on the firefighting process. Once the fire has been extinguished and conditions are declared safe, a team will carry out measurements to determine the size of the affected area,” Endrip said.

Meanwhile, Head of Emergency and Logistics at the East Java Provincial BPBD Satriyo Nurseno said the forest fire in the Bromo area was recorded as causing no casualties, while the extent of the damage was still being assessed.

“Zero casualties. The impact is still being recorded,” Satriyo said.

Personnel from the East Java Provincial BPBD together with the Probolinggo Regency BPBD have coordinated with BB TNBTS on fire management. TNBTS field personnel are also carrying out firefighting manually, using the gepyok method.