Forest and land fires in Ijen Nature Park begin to subside

Forest and land fires (karhutla) in the Kawah Ijen Nature Tourism Park (TWA), located between Banyuwangi and Bondowoso regencies in East Java, gradually subsided on Tuesday, particularly the fire points along the trekking routes.

Banyuwangi Regent Ipuk Fiestiandani said that, in addition to using a water-bombing helicopter belonging to the East Java Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) since Sunday (6/9), the joint team has also been carrying out cooling and mopping-up operations to ensure there is no potential for the fire to spread elsewhere.

“Aerial monitoring shows there are still fire points, especially in hard-to-reach locations. Several points are still producing smoke, indicating a continued risk of fire,” said Regent Ipuk after monitoring the fire location at TWA Kawah Ijen on Tuesday.

According to Ipuk, the water-bombing helicopter carries out an average of 30 water drops per day, with each aerial drop carrying 1,000 litres of water taken from a reservoir owned by PT Medco in the Mount Ijen area.

“Let us pray that it can be handled quickly, so the fires do not spread further across the dry land in the Kawah Ijen area,” Ipuk added.

Meanwhile, Head of the Banyuwangi Region 5 Conservation Section Noviyani Utami added that ground teams were conducting mopping-up operations, especially along the trekking routes, assisted by a team from the Forest and Land Fire Control Centre (BPKHL) for Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara.

“We are also assisted by personnel from the Jabalnusra Regional Forest and Land Fire Control Centre for the mopping-up process, to make sure no embers reignite, as well as mapping the burned area and clearing the trekking routes,” she said.