BKSDA Again Deploys Fire Fighting Officers On Mount Papandayan

Officers extinguished the blaze in the Gunung Papandayan area, Garut Regency, West Java, Monday (23/10/2023). (ANTARA/HO-Diskominfo Garut)

GARUT - The Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) has again deployed a number of officers to extinguish the fire that burned forest areas in Gunung Papandayan, Garut Regency, West Java.

Head of the Conservation Section for Region V Garut Regency, Dodi Arisandi, confirmed that there were hotspots that returned to light, then a team of 50 people was dispatched to immediately overcome the fire so that it would not spread.

"We are still trying to secure the hotspots and extinguish the fire as a team again. Earlier I took out a team of about 50 people to go to the area to put out the fire," said Dodi, quoted by ANTARA, Monday, October 30.

He said that since the forest fire incident on Mount Papandayan on October 22, 2023, the joint team has tried to extinguish the fire, which was finally extinguished, then surveillance was carried out.

However, the flames that were declared extinguished a week ago, he said, returned to light because of the fire from the tree trunk that caught fire earlier and then fell, resulting in a fire.

"So there was indeed a fire coal that was thought to be weathered yesterday, then the coal appeared, causing new hotspots," he said.

All joint officers tried to extinguish the fire, while at the same time ensuring that there were no more coals that feared could trigger another fire in the conservation forest area.

"Now it's possible to clean up those coalesce," he said.

Regarding the current location of the fire, there is still one area from the previous forest fire incident, the previously burned forest is calculated at around 250 hectares, and for this time it has not been calculated.