Forest Fire on Mount Lawu’s Slopes Difficult to Extinguish

A total of 244 personnel from several agencies have been deployed to help extinguish a fire in a forest area on the slopes of Mount Lawu in Karanganyar Regency, Central Java.

Central Java Police Chief Inspector General Roy Hardi Siahaan said the joint force, comprising police, the military, volunteers and relevant agencies, was continuing to fight the fire and prevent it from spreading.

Roy said the difficult terrain and limited facilities meant that crews were still relying on conventional equipment.

He said various efforts were under way to coordinate the firefighting operation. Roy added that he was seeking helicopter support from the Army Aviation Centre (Penerbad).

The helicopter is expected to assist with water-bombing, he said, as equipment available on the ground is not sufficient to reach the fire hotspots.

He also said weather modification, discussed with the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), was one option for addressing the prolonged dry conditions and strong winds complicating the response.

“The wind is quite strong. One of the things discussed is that we will carry out weather modification. But that will depend greatly on the assessment by our colleagues at BMKG before weather modification can be authorised,” Roy said while checking on the firefighting operation on the slopes of Mount Lawu in Karanganyar Regency on Saturday (17 October).

On the cause of the fire, he said human negligence was one possibility that still needed to be investigated.

He stressed that the cause could not yet be confirmed because investigators had not conducted an examination of the scene.