Joint Officers Extinguish Forest Fires In Ponorogo

Officers tried to extinguish the fire that burned shrubs in the protected forest area on the slopes of Mount Kiai Pleret, Biting Village, Ponorogo, Tuesday (15/8/2023) (ANTARA/HO - Badegan Police Chief AKP Haryono)

PONOROGO - Dozens of joint officers together with residents work hand in hand to extinguish the fire that has hit the forest area again on the slopes of Mount Kiai Pleret, Biting Village, Badegan District, Ponorogo, East Java.

Using simple equipment such as wet leaves, sacks/wet cloth, machetes and hoes, they try to extinguish the fire by hoarding or beating the hotspots so that they don't spread to the surroundings further.

However, because the burned area was quite large, plus the uphill terrain made the joint team and residents overwhelmed.

"The information is that the fire has started to emerge since Monday (14/8) yesterday. The large number of flammable materials plus strong winds has made the fire spread quickly and scorched two hectares of forest," said Badegan Police Chief AKP Haryono as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, August 15.

Until the afternoon, a puff of smoke was still observed around the slopes of Mount Kiai Pleret.

The BPBD team assisted by the Ponorogo Damkar team was also seen stepping in to help extinguish the fire in the protected forest.

"This fire also threatens the source of water for residents in the protected forest area," he said.

The head of Biting Village, Bambang Warsito, said that a number of wild animals such asAUs, wild boars, wild boars, and other animals were disturbed by the forest fires.

There were even a number of wild animals that were burned to death in this fire incident.

"Currently we are still monitoring how to prevent the fire from spreading, because the hotspot is located near a residential area of about 200 meters," he said.