Officers Handling Fires In The Mount Merbabu National Park Area

Joint police officers, TNI, and volunteers carried out a fire fighting that hit a forest area in Gunung Merbabu National Park in the Semarang Regency, Central Java.

Getasan Police Chief Iptu Ari Parwanto said the police received a report about the appearance of the hotspots in the morning.

"Reports from national park volunteers about forest fires in the Sokowolu Hamlet area," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, October 27.

Joint officers and local residents conducted a sweep of about 5 km to the hotspots using makeshift equipment

As of the afternoon, he said, most of the areas hit by the fires had been extinguished.

He said joint officers were still on standby around Gedong and Sokowolu hamlets.

Ari said the area hit by the fire was a Pinus forest area.

"Not a productive forest and far from settlements," he said.

The police chief has not been able to confirm the area of the burning forest area.

The cause of the fire, he continued, was thought to be due to the friction of tree branches with hot weather and strong winds that triggered the fire to spread quickly.