KDM: Mountain Climbing Temporarily Closed to Prevent Forest and Land Fires

The Governor of West Java, Dedi Mulyadi, has instructed mountain area managers to temporarily close hiking areas. This measure aims to prevent land and forest fires during the dry season.

Dedi expressed concern that fires lit by hikers could trigger larger blazes, as well as discarded cigarette butts. “Mountain climbing is temporarily closed because of concerns that hikers might light fires,” said KDM, the familiar moniker for Dedi Mulyadi, on Monday (31/08/2026).

According to data from the West Java Regional Disaster Management Agency, the total area of land and forest burnt in West Java up to 31 August 2026 reached 228.07 hectares. These fires have occurred across 178 villages/sub-districts in 107 districts.

A total of 156 fire incidents have been recorded. The three regencies/cities with the highest number of incidents are Sumedang Regency (21 incidents), Majalengka Regency (17 incidents), and Bandung Regency (16 incidents).

In terms of land area, the largest fires occurred in Sukabumi Regency (49.20 hectares), Majalengka Regency (26.16 hectares), and Bandung Regency (24.80 hectares).