Khofifah Secures Water Bombing Helicopter to Combat Mount Bromo Fires Tomorrow

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa is arranging for a water bombing helicopter from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to begin operations to extinguish fires in the Mount Bromo area on Friday (7/8). The assistance helicopter is scheduled to land at Juanda Airport before being deployed to the fire hotspots. Khofifah explained that her team is currently maintaining intensive communication with the BNPB, given that the helicopter was previously in Kalimantan dealing with forest fires there. “God willing, the assistance helicopter from BNPB will be there tomorrow morning,” she said in Malang City on Thursday (6/8). While awaiting the helicopter’s arrival, firefighting efforts are currently relying on a drone water sprayer with a 150-litre carrying capacity. Although this unmanned aircraft technology is already operational, Khofifah acknowledged that its range and water volume are still limited for extinguishing fires over a wide area in heavy terrain. According to the Governor, the presence of a water bombing helicopter is crucial as it can carry a much larger volume of water. This is expected to increase the effectiveness of firefighting operations in locations that are difficult for joint ground personnel to reach. In the field, joint officers continue manual firefighting efforts and land wetting (mopping up) to prevent the fire from spreading. Khofifah hopes that the collaboration between the manual efforts of officers and modern technology such as helicopters and drones can accelerate the recovery of the conservation area. Previously, Head of BNPB Lieutenant General TNI Suharyanto had stated the readiness of two water bombing helicopter units to assist East Java. This step was taken following the condition of the fire terrain in Bromo, which has steep slopes and is difficult to access via land routes.