Joint team on standby to anticipate new smoke points at Mount Bromo

Malang, East Java (ANTARA) - Commander of the Forest and Land Fire Handling Sector for Korem 083/Baladhika Jaya, Colonel Inf Wahyu Ramadhanus Suryawan, said a joint team remains on standby in the Mount Bromo area to anticipate the emergence of new smoke points, even though the fires have generally been extinguished.

Wahyu, in an official statement received in Malang, East Java, on Sunday, said smoke points may still appear due to remaining embers potentially present in the humus or topsoil layer.

“We continue to monitor because embers can be stored underground,” he said.

Wahyu said the initial cause of the fire points is still under investigation by the authorities.

In addition, all fire points that had appeared and burned several locations on Mount Bromo have been successfully extinguished by the joint team, including in Probolinggo Regency, East Java.

To date, officers have found no indication of smoke or new fire points.

Besides Probolinggo, fire points were also found in areas within Pasuruan Regency, specifically in Bongkah and spreading to Bukit Dingklik, Punggu Naga, Pakis Bincis, Bukit Cinta, and up to Bukit Kingkong.

Extinguishing efforts were carried out in an integrated manner through ground operations and water bombing.

Joint personnel also continue to secure the area to prevent the flames from moving towards tourist areas, including Penanjakan, Seruni Point, and several other tourist locations.

He added that based on aerial monitoring conducted this morning, an indication of one smoke point was still found in a high-altitude area.

The number of joint personnel deployed to handle forest and land fires in Bromo is around 1,500 people, consisting of the TNI, Polri, BPBD, Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, Perhutani, firefighters, Manggala Agni, volunteers, and the community.

“For ground operations, we still need additional portable equipment that can be carried into difficult terrain. So far, in certain conditions, we still use manual equipment, such as gepyok and rakes to open the ground and break the embers,” he said.