Mount Gede Wildfire: Hundreds of Personnel Still Battling to Extinguish Blaze

The Mount Gede Pangrango National Park Agency has stated that around 150 joint personnel and volunteers are still working to extinguish a fire burning land in the Wadon Crater area of Mount Gede, with the scorched area continuing to expand. Spokesperson for the agency, Ade Bagja, said that on the second day of handling, the number of personnel and volunteers arriving to help tackle the spreading fire, particularly in the Wadon Crater area, continued to grow. The joint team, consisting of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, the Indonesian National Police, the Cianjur Fire Department, the Cianjur Regional Disaster Management Agency, and dozens of volunteers from various organisations and individuals, is still trying to manually extinguish the fire, which has burned around six hectares. “The obstacle to extinguishing the fire is the location, which is difficult to reach, coupled with many dry trees that easily catch fire, making it difficult for officers and volunteers. We are still waiting for definitive data,” Ade said when contacted in Cianjur, West Java, on Sunday. Regarding the cause of the fire, based on initial investigations, it is suspected to be due to natural factors. Dry grass and trees caught fire due to the very high temperatures in the Wadon Crater, which ignited the blaze. There was no human activity in the area before the fire occurred. To confirm this, the agency is still waiting for reports from officers and the team in the field who are still trying to extinguish the fire. “It is most likely that the fire in the Wadon Crater was caused by natural factors, with the heat igniting dry grass which then spread to trees and other plants, but this will be further investigated by officers,” he said. According to information from officers and volunteers, on the second day of handling, hundreds of joint personnel are still trying to extinguish the fire burning land in the Wadon Crater of Mount Gede. The fire continues to spread to several locations that are difficult to reach. Strong winds blowing from morning to evening have caused the fire to spread rapidly to other areas, with the burned area now exceeding six hectares, most of which is difficult for officers and volunteers to access. “Around 150 officers and volunteers are still battling to extinguish the fire to prevent it from spreading further. Strong winds and limited equipment are causing the fire to spread quickly,” said Cianjur Regional Disaster Management Agency officer Ombing.