Forest Fires at Mount Rinjani Gradually Extinguished, Cause Remains Mysterious
The forest and land fires (karhutla) at Bukit Setampol and Puncak Sangkareang, within the Mount Rinjani National Park (TNGR) area, Torean and Senaru Resorts, North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), are now gradually being extinguished. The cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed.
The Head of the TNGR Administrative Sub-division, Astekita Ardiaristo, stated that according to monitoring from the forest and land fire control information system (Sipongi), no more hotspots have been detected. Nevertheless, the authorities have not yet confirmed that the fire is completely extinguished before conducting direct on-site inspections.
“Monitoring is being conducted through direct field observations as well as using drones. However, thick fog covering the Puncak Sangkareang area has prevented the team from performing optimal observations of all areas previously indicated to be burning,” explained Astekita on Monday (28/09/2026) night.
Astekita mentioned that the joint firefighting team is currently focusing on extinguishing efforts at Puncak Sangkareang for cooling purposes and to ensure there are no new fire points. Today’s weather has also seen rain in several areas, which has assisted the team in the firefighting efforts.
“Today’s weather has brought rain to several locations, including the fire sites,” she added.
The firefighting team is scheduled to return tomorrow morning to the points previously identified as having experienced fires. The team will monitor fire points using drones, provided that visibility and weather conditions permit.
“This step is being taken to ensure there are no embers, hidden fires, or the potential for re-ignition in dry vegetation,” said Astekita.
As of today, information regarding the cause of the fire remains unconfirmed. The TNGR authorities and the firefighting team are still focusing on extinguishing efforts.
“There has been no investigation into that (the cause of the fire) yet. Currently, the team is still focused on the firefighting efforts,” Astekita explained.