Fire In The Monggrang Gunung Lawu Padam Area

The community and Perhutani officers extinguished the fire on the slopes of Mount Lawu, Karanganyar Regency, Central Java, Saturday (23/9/2023). ANTARA/HO-Perhutani

The fire in the tourist area of Bukit Mongrang Hutan Gunung Lawu in Karanganyar Regency, Central Java has been extinguished after being burned since Friday (22/9) afternoon.

Assistant Perhutani (Asper) BKPH Lawu Utara Sartono said the fire was in plots 62-A2.

"Approximately 30 minutes has been extinguished. Then this morning there were two points indeed, next to the top and bottom," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, September 23.

He said that from the results of the extinguishing process carried out by the community and Perhutani with a gpyok system, the fire was finally extinguished.

"With a happy system while we create a circle, it can finally be extinguished," he said.

According to him, the fire broke out in the middle of the weeds with a location adjacent to the cliff, making it difficult for people to move.

Meanwhile, the initial information about the fire came from the community who saw a puff of smoke.

"Then (the community, Red.) we immediately launched a report to us. The report was around 13.00 WIB," he said.

From the results of field observations, the burned land was in three plots. The starting point of the fire was in plots 44-2 and 39-1, then the fire spread to 62-A2 plots with a total of 7 hectares of burned land.

Regarding the cause of the fire, his party is still coordinating with the Tawangmangu Police. However, he confirmed that with the second fire incident on the slopes of Mount Lawu, there would be an increase in routine patrols to prevent potential fires.

Meanwhile, the Administratur of Perum Perhutani KPH Surakarta Herry Merkussiyanto Putro said the hiking trail in the Bukit Mongrang area was closed indefinitely.

The closure was carried out to anticipate cases of fires that are now rife in several regions in Indonesia.

Related to this, his party is still checking to ensure that no more fire coal can trigger another fire.