Ciremai Mountain Wildfire: Kuningan Regency Seeks Provincial Support for Water-Bombing

A joint team from various agencies has been deployed to tackle a forest and land fire on the slopes of Mount Ciremai National Park (TNGC), in Pasawahan, Kuningan Regency, West Java. The blaze has been burning since Wednesday (21 October) evening.

Aerial firefighting, or water-bombing, is being considered as an option for containing the fire.

Kuningan Regent Dian Rachmat Yanuar said the response had been reinforced with personnel from the Indonesian Military (TNI), National Police, Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), state forestry company Perhutani, fire services and community fire groups, as well as additional personnel from Majalengka and Cirebon regencies.

“When the fire spreads to steep, rocky slopes, extinguishing it from the ground becomes extremely difficult and dangerous,” he said in Kuningan on Thursday (22 October), as quoted by Antara.

He said the steep, rocky terrain was the main obstacle preventing crews from reaching the fire, while dry vegetation and gusts of wind were accelerating its spread.

Dian said Kuningan Regency Government had also coordinated with the West Java Provincial Government to seek helicopter support for water-bombing operations, to reach areas inaccessible to ground crews.

“They have been working there around the clock, day and night, for the past two days. The province has therefore provided an incentive as a form of support,” he said.

He said additional personnel would be stationed at the incident command post on a rotating basis to ensure firefighting operations could continue without interruption.

Alongside strengthening firefighting operations, the local government has prepared a medical team from a nearby community health centre to monitor the condition of personnel and volunteers still working on the slopes.

Dian urged residents not to burn rubbish indiscriminately or do anything else that could start a fire while the weather remained dry.

“We once again urge the public not to burn rubbish carelessly and to be alert to cigarette ends. The trees and grass along the hiking routes are very dry and can easily catch fire, especially when the wind is blowing,” he said.

As of Thursday evening, efforts to contain the fire were continuing through ground operations and the construction of firebreaks. The blaze, first detected on Wednesday evening, had grown from an estimated five hectares to dozens of hectares.

Meanwhile, Cirebon Regency’s Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) sent a joint team to assist with the wildfire response on Mount Ciremai.

Cirebon BPBD executive secretary Syamsul Huda said in Cirebon on Thursday that the deployment followed instructions from the Cirebon Regency Regional Secretary to support firefighting in the area.

“Cirebon Regency has deployed 48 personnel. They come from the BPBD, Fire and Rescue Service and Disaster Preparedness Cadets (Tagana), and will assist the response on the ground,” he said.

The Cirebon BPBD has also supplied equipment, including portable water pumps, water storage containers and tanks, as well as provisions for crews on duty.

Limited water and strong winds

According to detikJabar, the scarcity of water and strong winds have contributed to the fire’s spread since it was first detected at 8.44pm on Wednesday.

Asep, public relations officer for the Silihwangi Majakuning Community Fire Group (MPA), said the wildfire on Mount Ciremai had continued to expand overnight.

The fire had initially been confined to the forest boundary near Seda village, but by 4am it had spread west towards Yanggo Block in Cibuntu village, Pasawahan, Kuningan Regency.

“The fire is still not under control and remains large, moving west towards the upper area, where there is a wilderness zone. They said the first spot was in Seda; since 4am it has spread to Yanggo Block in Cibuntu village,” Asep said on Thursday, as quoted by detikJabar.

Asep said the spread was being fuelled by the lack of water reservoirs and the distance to natural water sources. Strong winds and difficult access were also making the blaze hard to contain.

“The wind is quite strong. There are no water points available, there is no reservoir, and the natural water sources are far away. The route to the site is also steep: it is a footpath that vehicles cannot use. It was dark last night, too,” Asep said.

Because of these constraints, volunteers were still fighting the flames manually, using tree branches and building firebreaks to stop the fire spreading.

“In Cibuntu there is no reservoir, and the water source is far away. So they are beating the flames with branches. The capacity of the jet shooters is limited, and they are mostly making firebreaks to stop the spread. Dozens of members of the Community Fire Groups from six villages are there now,” Asep said.

Asep said the cause of the fire was not yet known. However, because it began at night in an area where non-timber forest products are gathered, there was speculation that it may have been deliberately set.

“The forest farmer group went down at 5pm and said there was no fire then. We suspect that might be the case because it is near an area for non-timber forest products, which forest farmer groups commonly work. It seems someone may have deliberately set the fire, but we do not know why. We are still trying to work out why the forest was burned,” Asep said.

TNGC data, evaluation, reporting and public relations co-ordinator Eska Nata Suryana said park staff, volunteers and local residents were continuing to fight the fire.

Official footage released by Mount Ciremai National Park showed flames still burning in the forest, with thick white smoke covering the forest and land on the mountain.