East Java BPBD Deploys Water-Spraying Drone to Combat Bromo Forest Fire

The East Java Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) has deployed a water-spraying drone and fire trucks to help extinguish a forest and land fire in the Mount Bromo area. Head of East Java BPBD Gatot Soebroto stated that the fire was first reported on Monday (3 August) around 5 p.m. local time in the Ranu Pani area, Probolinggo Regency. ‘It was briefly extinguished the following day, but reignited during the day and has continued until now,’ he said. The joint team on the ground is using two strategies: at the bottom of the cliff, firefighting is carried out using a 150-litre capacity water-spraying drone and a tanker truck belonging to East Java BPBD. ‘We have also deployed one fire engine and an L300 vehicle carrying a water tank to support the water supply at the location,’ he added. According to data from the East Java BPBD Operations Control Centre, the area affected by the fire as of Thursday (6 August) has reached approximately 70 hectares. ‘The vegetation burned includes mountain pines, mentigen, acacia, and shrubs. There have been no reports of casualties so far,’ Gatot said. He noted that officers are facing challenges in the field because the fire point is on the slopes of the Bromo Caldera with steep contours and strong winds, causing the fire to spread quickly to higher parts of the cliff. Gatot said the East Java BPBD team, together with a joint team consisting of the Probolinggo Regency BPBD, Malang Regency BPBD, forest rangers, TNBTS, TNI, Polri, and fire-care volunteers, has been deployed to the location. ‘East Java BPBD continues to coordinate with TNBTS, Probolinggo BPBD, Malang BPBD, forest rangers, and volunteers to accelerate handling and monitoring in the field. The weather conditions at the location are currently monitored as partly cloudy,’ Gatot Soebroto said. It is planned that today, Thursday (6 August), BNPB will provide support by deploying a helicopter from Palangka Raya to accelerate the extinguishing of the forest and land fire in Bromo.