Kuningan Disaster Management Agency focuses on cooling efforts after Mount Ciremai forest fire is extinguished

Kuningan - The Kuningan Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) in West Java is focusing its efforts on cooling operations after hotspots from the forest and land fire (karhutla) in Mount Ciremai National Park (TNGC) have no longer been visible since Wednesday (9/9) night.

The Head of Implementation of the Kuningan Regency BPBD, Indra Bayu Permana, stated in Kuningan on Thursday that joint teams are still conducting monitoring to ensure no new hotspots emerge following the firefighting process.

“At 20:00 WIB, last Wednesday night, no hotspots were visible, so efforts are still being directed towards containment and cooling,” he said.

According to him, the cooling process is being carried out as part of the follow-up handling to prevent embers from reigniting in the burnt areas.

The joint team is performing the cooling process with the support of pump engines, jet shooters, and other firefighting equipment, while containment processes are being implemented to limit the potential spread of fire.

Indra noted that the Kuningan BPBD has prepared one water tanker unit with a 5,000-litre capacity to supply the water requirements during the firefighting, containment, and cooling processes.

“We have prepared a 5,000-litre capacity water tank to supply water for firefighting, containment, and cooling,” he said.

He further explained that during the operation, the team is using one pump engine, eight rolls of two-inch hoses, two rolls of 2.5-inch hoses, two nozzles, and two jet shooters.

He stated that the fire in the Mount Ciremai area is estimated to cover an area of 40 hectares, though this figure is still being mapped by the TNGC authorities.

“Previously, TNGC, along with village officials, coordinated with sub-district elements, the TNI (Indonesian National Armed Forces), the Polri (Indonesian National Police), and the Kuningan BPBD to handle the fire in the area,” he added.