Ministry of Forestry and joint team extinguish Sembalun forest fire

The Ministry of Forestry, through the Forest Fire Control Centre for the Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara Region and the Directorate General of Forestry Law Enforcement, together with a joint team, has successfully extinguished a forest fire in the Sembalun protected forest area, East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. The fire, which was detected on Friday (26/6) and successfully extinguished on Monday, scorched an area of protected forest spanning approximately 163.8 hectares, with vegetation dominated by pine stands, shrubs, and savanna. Head of the Jabalnusra Forest Fire Control Centre at the Ministry of Forestry, Bambang Setyo Antoko, stated that the joint firefighting operation faced challenges as the fire was located at an altitude of more than 2,345 metres above sea level with steep and rugged mountainous terrain, forcing the team to walk on footpaths to reach the fire location. “In addition to difficult access, the lack of water sources around the location meant the entire extinguishing process had to be carried out manually. The fairly strong wind conditions during the operation also increased the intensity of the fire and affected the rate of fire spread,” he said. He noted the joint team consisted of personnel from the Jabalnusra Forest Fire Control Centre, personnel from KPH Region II NTB, Sembalun Police, Suela Police, and members of the Puncak Semaring Community Forestry group. “The hotspot was first detected on Friday (26/6) and reported by the Puncak Semaring Community Forestry group through the KPH Region II NTB Office,” said Bambang. On the second day (Saturday, 27/6) until 17:30 WITA, monitoring results showed the fire spread was beginning to concentrate in one direction in a cliff area that was difficult to reach. Monitoring activities were carried out until 18:20 WITA. From monitoring results at 23:00 WITA, there was still one hotspot that had not been extinguished, suspected to originate from the remains of a burnt pine tree, and extinguishing was subsequently carried out on the third day (Sunday, 28/6). “Entering the fourth day of operations (Monday) at 05:40 WITA, the team conducted a thorough location monitoring until 08:00 WITA, and no smoke plumes or hotspots were observed at the location and its surroundings, so the team decided to cease firefighting operations and the fire was declared under control.” Based on preliminary information, the cause of the fire is suspected to be related to the activity of an unknown person conducting illegal hunting. “This suspicion still requires further investigation by the authorities. This case will be coordinated with the Forestry Law Enforcement Office,” he said.