PROBOLINGGO - Mount Bromo remained closed to tourists Monday, August 10, as new fires burned around its caldera.
The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park authority closed all tourist activity at Mount Bromo from Saturday evening for an undetermined period as the wildfire expanded. Reuters, citing an announcement on the park operator’s official Instagram account, reported that visitors who had already bought entrance tickets could reschedule their visits or request refunds.
The fire began on Aug. 3 and had affected at least 60 hectares by Thursday. The burned area expanded to roughly 176 hectares around the time the full tourism closure was announced.
By Sunday, the original blaze had affected about 550 hectares and had been fully extinguished, Gatot Soebroto, head of the local disaster mitigation agency, told Reuters in its Aug. 10 fire update.
Authorities subsequently detected new fires covering about 20 hectares around the caldera. More than 120 personnel, three water-bombing helicopters, drones and fire trucks were deployed. Gatot warned Monday that the new fires could spread further as crews continued efforts to contain them.
No casualties had been reported. Authorities were still investigating the cause of the original fire, although Gatot said officials suspected carelessness after the first flame was found along a route used by visitors. Investigators believed someone had lit a fire and tried to extinguish it, but that it had not been completely put out.
The fires come as much of Java enters its August dry-season peak. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said most of Java was expected to reach its seasonal dry peak in August. BMKG has also warned that dry conditions increase the risk of drought and forest and land fires.
The Forestry Ministry’s conservation profile lists Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park as covering 50,276.20 hectares in East Java. Mount Bromo remained closed Monday, with no reopening date announced in the latest available reporting, leaving tourist activity suspended while firefighting teams dealt with the new fires around the caldera.
