The area of the Bromo Mountain Savanna that burned out reached 80 hectares.

PROBOLINGGO - The Head of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Probolinggo Regency, Oemar Sjarief, said that the area of the Bromo Mountain savannah that was on fire was predicted to reach 80 hectares based on information obtained from the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) Headquarters.

"As of Wednesday (5/8) evening, it was observed that around 80 hectares of savannah had been burned based on information from TNBTS and the area could increase as it had not yet been extinguished and there were still fire points," said Oemar as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, August 6.

The initial indication of the fire was detected through the Forest and Land Fire Monitoring System (SiPongi+) of the Ministry of Forestry which received and processed hotspot data from various satellites, including NASA-MODIS.

On Tuesday (4/8), SiPongi+ detected a hot spot with medium confidence and the information was immediately verified through a direct on-site inspection (ground check), so that the extinguishing operation could be immediately mobilized to localize the spread of the fire.

Fires have hit savanna vegetation, mountain pines, ferns, and shrubs, but firefighting operations face challenges in the form of steep slopes, steep hills, flammable vegetation, quite strong winds, and limited water sources. To support the fire, water supplies are carried out gradually using tanker trucks to points that can still be reached by personnel.

The Probolinggo Regency BPBD Rapid Response Team personnel together with the East Java BPBD, Perhutani, TNI/Polri, Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) Headquarters, East Java Disaster Management Agency, volunteers and the community united to put out the forest fire in the Bromo Mountain tourist area.

BNPB also provided support by deploying a waterbombing helicopter from Palangka Raya, to accelerate the extinguishing of forest and land fires (karhutla) in Bromo.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Forest Fire Control Center for Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara, Bambang Setyo Antoko, said all personnel continued to adjust the extinguishing strategy to the development of conditions in the field.

"The fire is still active and the conditions on the ground are constantly changing. Our personnel focus on sectors with the highest potential for spread so that the spread of the fire can be suppressed as quickly as possible, while still prioritizing the safety of all personnel on duty," he said.

The Ministry of Forestry places the protection of conservation areas from forest fires as an important part of the policy of the Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni.

"Strengthening the early detection system through SiPongi+, field patrols, personnel readiness, integrated operations, investigation of the causes of fires, and cross-agency and community collaboration will continue to be strengthened to ensure that any potential fire can be detected early, handled quickly, and prevented from developing into wider ecological damage.