Fire Erupts at Illegal Landfill in Waringinkurung, Police and Firefighters Battle to Extinguish

A fire has reignited at an illegal landfill in Waringinkurung, Serang Regency, Banten. Personnel from the Banten Regional Police and firefighters are working to extinguish the flames. Photographs released by the Banten Police show white smoke still billowing from the site, with fire emerging from one of the waste piles.

“The current condition is that there is still smoke and fire,” said Banten Police Head of Public Relations, Commissioner Maruli Hutapea, on Saturday (29/8/2026). He confirmed that police and fire crews remain at the scene.

The fire was first noticed by residents on Friday (28/8) at around 6 p.m. local time. Residents saw flames already burning in Kampung Pranje, Waringinkurung Village. “The cause of the incident is unknown. At around 6 p.m., when residents were returning from collecting grass, they saw the fire had already spread significantly. Officers from the Waringinkurung Police immediately went to the scene of the land fire. For now, efforts are being made to extinguish the fire,” he said.

According to Maruli, the location was formerly a brick quarry that was later used as a waste disposal site. “Once the waste is full, it is covered with soil,” he said. He noted that the fire is difficult to extinguish because of the piles of waste covered by soil. Despite this, the illegal landfill is far from residential areas. “It is now overgrown with weeds, which makes the fire hard to put out because there are many piles of waste underneath,” he added.