Forest and Land Fires Hit Five Areas in East Java, Four in Mountainous Regions
JAKARTA — The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) recorded forest and land fires in five areas of East Java as of Friday (23 October 2026). BNPB has deployed a helicopter for water-bombing operations and an aircraft for weather-modification operations in the province.
Berton SP Panjaitan, acting head of BNPB’s Disaster Data, Information and Communication Centre, said four of the five affected areas were mountainous. The locations are Mount Arjuno-Welirang, Mount Argopuro, Mount Saeng in Bondowoso, Supit Urang landfill in Malang city, and Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS).
“About 1,000 hectares on Mount Arjuno-Welirang are still burning. At Argopuro, there are 1,297 fire hotspots and the fire has not been extinguished. Then there is Mount Saeng in Bondowoso, where the fire started on 22 October and is also still burning,” he said at an online press conference on Friday afternoon.
A fire has also broken out at Supit Urang landfill in Malang city. The blaze at the waste-disposal site was reported to have started on Wednesday (21 October 2026).
The other area still affected by fires is TNBTS. BNPB data recorded at least 311 fire hotspots in the national park between 16 and 23 October 2026. The area of land burned there is still being assessed.
“We know that some time ago we received information that five people had died while trying to extinguish the fire in Bromo. They became trapped in the area and lost their lives,” he said.
He expressed his deepest condolences for the volunteers who died while responding to the fires, and paid tribute to those who helped with the response.
On the response in East Java, Berton added that the head of BNPB had visited the province to coordinate with the regional government. At the meeting, BNPB decided to add aircraft and other equipment for tackling the fires.
“BNPB will move an additional water-bombing helicopter from South Kalimantan to Malang, as well as a weather-modification aircraft from West Kalimantan to support operations in several other mountains in East Java,” he said.