Four East Java Mountains Affected by Wildfires, with Steep Terrain Hampering Firefighting

Four mountain and highland areas in East Java were still being affected by forest and land fires on Tuesday (20 October).

The hotspots were reported in areas that are difficult for ground teams to reach. Aerial water-bombing operations have also not yet been possible.

East Java Deputy Governor Emil Elestianto Dardak said, for example, that the fire at the Arjuno-Welirang Mountain complex in the R Soerjo Grand Forest Park was burning in a location that ground crews could not reach because of the difficult terrain.

“The fire is at an extraordinary altitude, and it really cannot be reached by personnel,” Emil said in Surabaya on Tuesday (20 October).

Emil said that reaching such inaccessible hotspots would require thousands of litres of water to be dropped from helicopters in a water-bombing operation.

However, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency’s (BNPB) helicopters are currently being deployed to tackle forest and land fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra. Emil said he was continuing to co-ordinate with the agency so East Java could receive similar assistance soon.

“We know the situation with water-bombing: the focus is on Kalimantan and Sumatra. But we are continuing to co-ordinate with the BNPB to gain access to aerial firefighting,” he said.

While waiting for that assistance, Emil said personnel were focusing on containing the fires by building firebreaks to stop the flames spreading towards residential areas.

“For areas that cannot be reached, our focus is on prevention: making firebreaks. We must not let the fires spread to residential areas or public facilities,” he said.

“Forest rangers, Manggala Agni [firefighting crews] and trained volunteers are all working together to fight the fires or establish the firebreaks I mentioned,” he added.

Forest and land fires in East Java continued to spread on Tuesday (20 October). Data from the East Java Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) showed that at least four mountain and highland areas were still burning.

Satriyo Nurseno, head of the BPBD’s Emergency and Logistics Division, said that as of Tuesday afternoon the affected areas included Mount Bromo in Probolinggo, Mount Arjuno-Welirang in Pasuruan, Mount Sigiran in Mojokerto, and Tamankursi at the foot of Mount Argopuro in Situbondo.

Satriyo said the area burned across the four locations was still being assessed.

“The extent of the area burned is still being assessed,” he said.