Fire in Way Kambas National Park Extinguished, All Elephants Reported Safe
The Ministry of Forestry has confirmed that a forest fire in the Way Kambas National Park area of Lampung has been successfully extinguished. Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) in their natural habitat and at the Elephant Conservation Centre have been confirmed not to be directly affected.
Head of the Public Relations and Foreign Cooperation Bureau at the Ministry of Forestry, Ristianto Pribad, explained that the fire in the Kuala Penet Resort area of Way Kambas National Park, East Lampung Regency, was successfully extinguished on Saturday (22/8) at around 19.00 WIB.
“Based on monitoring by the Way Kambas National Park Office, the wild elephant herds are located in the northern part of the national park, far from the fire location. Meanwhile, the elephants at the Elephant Conservation Centre are also in an unaffected area,” he said, quoting Antara, Sunday (23/8).
Thus, both wild elephants and those at the Elephant Conservation Centre have been monitored as safe and not directly affected by the incident. Officers continue to monitor wildlife movements and the condition of the area to ensure optimal protection of wildlife.
The Lampung Regional Police stated that the forest and land fire that struck the Way Kambas National Park area was successfully extinguished by a joint team.
“The fire hotspots that were previously difficult to reach due to terrain conditions and strong winds were successfully extinguished after approximately 200 joint personnel were deployed to the location,” said Head of Public Relations of the Lampung Regional Police, Senior Commissioner Yuni Iswandari, quoting Antara.
She said that firefighting was carried out from 16.00 WIB until the hotspots were declared extinguished at around 19.30 WIB on Saturday (22/8). The success of the firefighting was the result of joint work by all elements involved in the field.
“Alhamdulillah, the fire hotspots in the Way Kambas National Park area were successfully extinguished at 19.30 WIB. Joint personnel worked maximally to ensure the fire did not spread again,” she said.
The fire itself had occurred since Friday (21/8) in the Kuala Penet Resort area, with the affected area estimated to reach approximately 673 hectares. This figure is still provisional and will be updated based on field verification results.
Fire handling involved around 250 joint personnel from the Way Kambas National Park Office, Lampung Regional Police, East Lampung Resort Police, Military Regional Command, East Lampung Military District Command, East Lampung Regency Government, national park working partners, Forest Police Partner Communities, forest farmer groups, cooperatives, and Fire Care Communities.
Field control was also directly monitored by the Head of the Way Kambas National Park Office, the East Lampung Police Chief, the East Lampung Military District Commander, and the Head of the East Lampung Regional Disaster Management Agency.
He said that firefighting efforts faced challenges including the characteristics of peatland, difficult access to the location, and water sources located quite far from the fire area. Some locations even had to be reached by personnel on foot.
After extinguishing the fire, joint personnel carried out cooling and follow-up monitoring to ensure that no hotspots reappeared. This step is important given the characteristics of peatland that require vigilance to prevent potential recurring fires.