Forest Fire in Mount Geulis Area of Sukabumi, Fire Believed to Have Started from Roadside
A fire occurred in a forest area in the Mount Geulis region, Pabuaran District, Sukabumi Regency, on Tuesday (25/8/2026) evening. A joint team comprising police, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the Fire Service and local residents worked to extinguish the blaze until it was finally brought under control.
Lengkong Police Chief AKP Awan Ridwan said the fire was discovered at around 7.00 pm Western Indonesia Time and is believed to have scorched an area of four hectares. He said the fire is thought to have originated from a roadside area near the Pasir Bitung settlement.
The fire then spread to a bamboo plantation area filled with dry leaves and twigs. As a result, the blaze expanded further. The joint team immediately worked to extinguish the fire.
“We, together with relevant parties and the community, moved quickly to carry out firefighting efforts. Alhamdulillah, at around 9.00 pm Western Indonesia Time the fire was successfully extinguished,” he said, as quoted on Wednesday (26/8/2026).
He said his team continues to monitor the area to anticipate the fire re-emerging. Awan added that the area contains many dry bamboo leaves and twigs.
Furthermore, the fire location is in a mountainous area, which caused the fire to spread more quickly, especially when carried by the wind. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
“The exact cause of the fire is still being investigated,” he said.
He urged the public not to carry out indiscriminate burning, especially when clearing land, and not to discard cigarette butts in areas that are prone to catching fire.
“After the fire was successfully extinguished, officers carried out monitoring around the location to ensure there were no remaining hotspots that could reignite,” he said.
He said the public is asked to increase vigilance against the potential for forest and land fires, particularly amid dry material conditions that are highly flammable.
Meanwhile, West Java Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) Public Relations Expert Hadi Rahmat said that throughout August, forest and land fires in Sukabumi Regency reached 15 incidents, with a total burned area of 49.2 hectares.
“The affected area of forest and land fires is 49.2 hectares,” he said.