Fire on Mount Sempana Extinguished, Trail Reopens in a Fortnight

The forest and land fire on Mount Sempana, in Sembalun Bumbung village, Sembalun district, East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, has been successfully extinguished. However, the hiking route remains closed and is only planned to reopen in about two weeks’ time.

The blaze, which engulfed the Mount Sempana area on Tuesday, was brought under control after a joint team comprising site operators, the East Rinjani Forest Management Unit (KPH), Manggala Agni firefighters, and the military and police battled the fire for two days.

Mount Sempana operator Sipawarman said there are currently no more hotspots in the area. Nevertheless, visits cannot yet resume as post-fire conditions remain unsuitable. ‘It is still closed for the time being. Perhaps in a week or two it will be reopened, because after the fire the conditions are naturally still hot and dusty, which could affect visitors’ health,’ he explained.

Before reopening, the operator plans to carry out repairs at several points, including the hiking trail, camping area and visitor car park, to ensure tourist safety, security and comfort. ‘The plan is to repair the route used by visitors, the camping area, clean up waste and reorganise the car park, so that visitors can be safe and comfortable,’ Warman said.

He is also optimistic that the scorched grass will grow back by August, a month when visitor numbers typically increase, especially around the Independence Day commemoration on 17 August. ‘God willing, it can become green again, because visitors will be plentiful in August, especially on the 17th,’ he remarked.

The Head of the East Rinjani KPH Sembalun Resort, Supandi, stated that the total area of land burned reached 282 hectares, with the flames even spreading to Jaran Kurus Hill. ‘It also reached Jaran Kurus Hill, but we can confirm there are no more hotspots. The latest data puts the total burned area at 282 hectares,’ Supandi concluded.

According to Supandi, firefighting efforts were hampered by steep terrain and a lack of equipment, making it difficult for officers to reach the fire locations. ‘The location was hard for the team to reach because it is steep and quite extreme. Apart from that, we also only used tree branches because bringing equipment up from below was quite difficult,’ Supandi added.