One Fire Hotspot Remains on Mount Lawu as Central Java Governor Calls for Forest Fire Mitigation
A forest and land fire on Mount Lawu had left one active hotspot above Gondosuli village, Tawangmangu district, Karanganyar regency, as of Monday (26 October).
Central Java Governor Ahmad Luthfi said personnel and volunteer teams had been instructed to remain at their respective posts to conduct evaluations and thorough searches of the area.
Luthfi made the remarks during an inspection that also included a limited meeting with volunteers, the Karanganyar regent and the Karanganyar Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) at the Sakura Hills post.
“I have coordinated with the regent and the BPBD. The BNPB helicopter at Adi Soemarmo Air Force Base will make one more sortie. We need to assess this hotspot to prevent others from appearing,” Luthfi said.
He said the fire response on Mount Lawu was being carried out comprehensively by the provincial and Karanganyar regency BPBDs, the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and volunteers. Police are investigating the cause of the fire.
Luthfi called for more extensive prevention efforts, including public advisories, firm warnings and outreach to ensure people do not set fire to the forest, discard cigarette butts carelessly or burn rubbish.
As a mitigation measure, he urged the Central Java and Karanganyar public works departments, along with state forestry company Perhutani, to plan water reservoirs and channels to provide support in emergency situations.
He said local residents, who have local knowledge and a close understanding of the surrounding area, should be involved in disaster prevention and mitigation.
“Community involvement is paramount, because local people have the knowledge needed to protect the area,” Luthfi said.
Meanwhile, Karanganyar BPBD chief Sugiharto said the forest fire on Mount Lawu had been extinguished by Sunday (25 October). However, a fresh hotspot was detected above Gondosuli during monitoring on Monday morning.
Water-bombing operations have been prepared in light of current weather conditions on Mount Lawu. The technique has been used 34 times to tackle the fires there.
Each water drop requires 2,000 litres; a total of 68,000 litres has been used to extinguish the fires on Mount Lawu.
Water-bombing is necessary because parts of the area have layers of dry grass, some as deep as 30 centimetres, resembling peatland and requiring special treatment.