Forest Fire Engulfs Mount Ciremai National Park Area

A forest fire has occurred in the Mount Ciremai National Park (TNGC) area. The fire is suspected to have been caused by negligence. Based on information gathered, the latest fire occurred in the TNGC area within the SPTN Region I Kuningan, precisely in the Cirendang Block, Padabeunghar Village, Pasawahan District, Kuningan Regency, on Tuesday (21/7) at around 11.50 WIB. This is the first fire to hit TNGC in 2026. The fire in the Cirendang Block was discovered following the West Java Province Forest and Land Fire Control Alert Exercise, which was centred at the Ministry of Forestry’s BP2SDM field in Kadipaten District, Majalengka Regency. Four TNGC Centre officers participating in the fire control exercise patrol at the Batu Luhur ODTWA saw a plume of smoke. At the same time, information was also received from the community and local village officials by the TNGC call centre regarding the fire. The four officers also confirmed the presence of a hotspot in the TNGC Cirendang Block area. They then communicated with the SPTN I Kuningan fire control post and immediately moved to the hotspot to control the fire. ‘The fire spread very quickly because the majority of the land cover was dry shrubs and the wind was blowing strongly,’ said Head of the TNGC Centre, Toni Anwar, via a written statement received on Thursday (23/7). Firefighting efforts were carried out using natural beaters made of wet leafy branches. This method was used while waiting for the arrival of forest and land firefighting equipment, namely a jet shooter and a water pump machine, which were at the Singkup Fire Control Post. In the Cirendang Block, there are also planted areas from the 2024 green firebreak creation activity and plants from the 2025 green firebreak maintenance. The total number of plants is 2,750, with ages ranging from nine months (for replanted plants) to 2 years and 5 months (for originally planted plants). The flames were extinguished by 17.00 WIB. In an effort to ensure the fire was completely out, officers continued by conducting a mop-up, searching for and extinguishing any remaining embers, no matter how small, at several points where embers were still burning. ‘The temporary estimate is that the burned area is around 14.9 hectares. Meanwhile, the temporary suspicion is that the cause of the fire was due to human negligence,’ said Toni.