Smoke Still Blankets Jatiwaringin Landfill on Ninth Day of Fire

The fire at the Jatiwaringin Final Disposal Site (TPA) in Mauk District, Tangerang Regency, entered its ninth day on Wednesday, with joint firefighting teams still working to extinguish the blaze. Observations at the scene showed thick smoke still rising from the waste piles, although open flames were no longer visible on the surface. Personnel from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), and Manggala Agni were preparing to continue operations, with fire engines and heavy equipment on standby to tackle remaining hotspots. At around 8:02 a.m. Western Indonesian Time, a BNPB water-bombing helicopter arrived and began aerial water drops. Brigadier General TNI Djohan Darmawan, Director of Emergency Operations Coordination at BNPB, stated that four helicopters would be deployed to reach hotspots inaccessible by land. He noted that by the eighth day, 50 per cent of the fire area had been extinguished and approximately 70 per cent of the site had been cleared. Djohan explained that the firefighting effort was challenging because the landfill fire behaves similarly to a peatland fire, with flames burning beneath the surface of the waste, compounded by hazardous materials such as plastics and glass shards. Heavy equipment including bulldozers and excavators was being used to break apart and turn over smouldering waste piles. The fire at the Jatiwaringin landfill began on Tuesday, 30 June.