West Java Government Deploys Water-Bombing Helicopters to Extinguish Mount Ciremai Wildfire

West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi (KDM) was on site on Friday (23 October) to monitor efforts to extinguish a forest and land fire in the Mount Ciremai National Park area of Kuningan.

Helicopters were used for intensive water-bombing operations, and the fire was declared largely under control after two days.

“Today the helicopter has carried out water bombing. I flew around earlier to check the priority points, and the fire has diminished,” KDM said at Gedung Pakuan on Friday (23 October).

Based on aerial monitoring, the area burned was less than 60 hectares, contrary to reports circulating publicly.

“Thirty hectares burned. After yesterday’s efforts, only 20 per cent remains. Even then, it is at fire points that are not particularly dangerous,” the governor said.

To prevent the fire from spreading, the West Java Provincial Government deployed helicopters provided by the Ministry of Defence, the Indonesian Military Headquarters, the Air Force and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to carry out water bombing in hard-to-reach areas.

KDM said the terrain on Mount Ciremai differed from that in Kalimantan. In Kalimantan, fires spread sideways, while on Ciremai they spread uphill, and water sources are limited.

To address this, the provincial government is pursuing a containment strategy by restoring the function of natural channels in the forest.

“The forest naturally has a river that serves as a channel. It is already there. Today I mobilised 500 people to restore the channel’s function. They are clearing out rubbish so that, when water comes down, it will flow through the channel and prevent a fire from crossing,” he said.

KDM also urged residents not to clear land by burning it ahead of the November planting season.

“Some people may burn grass, as that is commonly done before November. Farmers are used to planting then. They must not do it any more,” Governor KDM said.