Bromo Wildfire Still Raging, Scorched Land Reaches 10 Hectares

Probolinggo, East Java (ANTARA) - Forest and land fires on Mount Bromo, East Java, have yet to be extinguished, with the burned area estimated to have reached 10 hectares. Joint personnel are therefore continuing efforts to douse the spreading flames using whatever manual equipment is available.

“Based on reports from officers in the field, the fire points have still not been extinguished today, so personnel are continuing suppression efforts at a number of hotspots,” said the Head of the Probolinggo Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Oemar Sjarief, on Wednesday.

The Rapid Response Team of the Probolinggo Regency BPBD, together with the East Java BPBD, Perhutani, the Indonesian National Army and Police, the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) Authority, the East Java Disaster Management Agency, volunteers and local communities, have united to extinguish the fires in the Mount Bromo tourist area.

“The fire beaters (kepyok) belonging to the officers are all damaged because they were used extensively whilst fighting the fires, but the officers are still beating out the flames using tree branches,” he said.

In addition to fire beaters, he continued, the joint personnel are using backpack sprayers to extinguish the flames, which keep spreading to other locations due to strong winds and easily combustible dry cogon grass.

The joint team is also monitoring the movement of the fire points and creating firebreaks to prevent the flames from spreading to other areas, in the hope that the fire can be extinguished and the burned area will not grow further.

The extent of the fires on Mount Bromo, which is part of the TNBTS area, has grown from 7.9 hectares to 10 hectares, and could still increase because the fire points have not been 100 per cent extinguished.

The fires have led to the partial closure of the Mount Bromo tourist area, one of East Java’s flagship destinations, as the TNBTS Authority has closed tourist access from the Jemplang and Coban Trisula entrances in Malang Regency and Senduro in Lumajang Regency to maximise firefighting efforts and ensure the safety of all visitors.

The closure of these three access points has been in effect since Monday (3/8) at 22:00 Western Indonesian Time, for an indefinite period. However, visitors can still reach Mount Bromo via the Cemoro Lawang entrance in Probolinggo Regency and Wonokitri in Pasuruan Regency, within a limited area.