Land Fires Erupt in Sumedang Amid Dry Season

Land fires struck Sumedang Regency, West Java, over the weekend. The fires occurred in two locations on the same day: on Mount Palasari in the Bebedahan Block, Kota Kulon Urban Village, South Sumedang District, and in the Cikalong Block, Tomo Village, Tomo District.

On Mount Palasari, the fire burned through 800 square metres of land. The flames grew large and consumed the entire area, which was covered with wild grass.

“The fire was quite large. The firefighting effort was carried out by a joint team from the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the Indonesian National Armed Forces, the National Police, the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), the Fire Department, the Disaster Response Team (Tagana), and local residents. The fire was successfully extinguished before it could spread to residential areas,” said Sumedang BPBD member Lukman Hakim on Sunday (5/7).

The joint team managed to put out the fire. There were no fatalities or injuries in the incident.

During this dry season, BPBD Sumedang has urged the public to be more careful. Residents are advised not to burn land or rubbish and not to discard cigarette butts carelessly.

Meanwhile, on the same day, a fire also broke out on land in the Cikalong Block, Tomo Village, Tomo District. This was the second such incident, following a fire in the same area the previous week. The most recent fire in Sumedang affected a two-hectare peatland area. The joint team was able to extinguish the flames.