Landfill Fires Recur, Burning for Hours
A fire has struck the Bojong Canar landfill in Cikedal District, Pandeglar Regency. The flames have been raging for several hours and have not yet been extinguished.
The fire occurred on Monday (31/8) at approximately 16:00 WIB. The Fire and Rescue team is still working to suppress the blaze.
“The fire has been burning for about 21 hours because it started yesterday afternoon and is still being handled,” said the Secretary of BPBD-PK Pandeglang, Nana Mulyana, on Monday (1/9/2026).
The fire is difficult to extinguish as it is located at the base of the waste piles. Authorities are coordinating with the Environmental Agency (LH) to deploy heavy machinery to break up the waste.
“We are attempting to break up the piles while spraying them with water; we are trying that technique,” he said.
Nana noted that this incident has occurred twice before, though he could not yet explain the cause.
“We cannot determine the cause yet because there were no witnesses, so we do not dare to state the origin. However, the main point is that there are several fire spots within the landfill area,” he added.
Illegal Waringinkurung Landfill
A previous fire also struck the illegal Waringinkurung landfill in Serang Regency, Banten, lasting for several days. That fire broke out on Friday night (28/8/2026) at around 18:00 WIB.
Heavy machinery was deployed to extinguish the flames, with four fire engines and one unit of heavy equipment sent to the location.
“Regarding the current condition, there are no large flames. Only smoke remains, as the fire is beneath the surface of the waste piles, making it difficult to extinguish,” said Waringinkurung Police Chief, Iptu Hari Purwanto, when contacted on Sunday (30/8).
“In terms of handling efforts, we have coordinated with the local sub-district leadership (Muspika) regarding the need for heavy machinery, and fortunately, the machinery arrived today. One excavator has been deployed and is coordinating with the fire department,” he added.
By the fourth day, the fire had not yet been extinguished. Police stated that suppression would likely require another two days as several fire spots remained active.
“It is still in progress; it will likely take one to two more days to finish,” said Police Chief Iptu Hari Purwanto on Monday (31/8/2026).
“The smoke has begun to decrease, with only a few spots remaining, because the heavy machinery started working yesterday,” said Hari.
Hari confirmed that there was no need to evacuate residents near the Waringinkurung landfill. He has also coordinated with the local community health centre (Puskesmas).
“Alhamdulillah, the residents are fine. No one was evacuated. We have coordinated with the health centre, and there have been no patients seeking treatment due to the smoke,” said Hari.