BNPB Helicopter Performs 25 Times Water Bombing Overcoming Gunung Lawu Forest And Land Fires

Joint officers are checking the presence of the remaining fire after efforts to extinguish the forest and land fires on Mount Lawu by "water bombing" using a Super Puma helicopter belonging to BNPB in Ngawi, East Java, Wednesday (4/10/2023). (ANTARA/Louis Rika)

NGAWI - Head of East Java BPBD Gatot Soebroto stated that the blackout of forest and land fires (karhutla) in the Gunung Lawu area using water bomb avalanches or "water bombings" was carried out 25 times.

"For today, we have carried out water bombings 25 times. In the morning to noon there were 17 times targeting the Ngawi Regency area. In the afternoon in the Karanganyar area eight times," said Gatot, quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, October 4.

According to him, efforts to extinguish forest and land fires on Mount Lawu with the water bombing will still be continued on Thursday so that the blackout can be more optimal.

"For tomorrow morning (Thursday), we will direct the water bombing in the Magetan-Karianganyar border area," said Gatot Soebroto.

In addition to the bombwater method, efforts to extinguish the fire manually by land are still being carried out.

"According to the direction of the BNPB Expert, extinguishing activities by land will still be maximized in the three affected areas, namely Ngawi and Magetan in East Java, as well as Karanganyar in Central Java. Land fires will focus on making lighting as a prevention of fire expansion," he said.

Meanwhile, based on data from Perum Perhutani Divre East Java, as of Wednesday (4/10), the number of areas affected by forest and land fires on Mount Lawu has reached almost 2 thousand hectares, or to be precise 1,990 hectares.

This number includes 1,250 hectares of Ngawi Regency, 700 hectares of Magetan Regency, and 40 hectares of Karanganyar Regency.

Currently, the burned land continues to spread, namely not only in Ngawi and Magetan, East Java, but also in Karanganyar, Central Java.

BNPB, East Java Provincial BPBD, and Central Java Provincial BPBD formed a Joint Task Force for East Java-Central Java Province Karhutla to extinguish forest and land fires that occurred in Gunung Lawu.