150 Joint Officers Struggle to Put Out Fire in the Ciremai Mountain Slope Area, West Java

Officers tried to extinguish forest and land fires (karhutla) in Cibuntu Village, Pesawahan District, Kuningan, West Java/ANTARA

KUNINGAN - Joint officers from Mount Ciremai National Park (TNGC) assisted by the TNI, Polri, and BPBD Kuningan Regency, West Java, are trying to extinguish the fire that burned the slopes of Mount Ciremai.

"We are still focusing on extinguishing the fire", said the Head of the Gunung Ciremai National Park (BTNGC) Kuningan Regency, Teguh Setiawan in Kuningan, Antara, Tuesday, September 27.

Approximately 150 joint officers from the TNI, Polri, BPBD and the surrounding community worked hard to extinguish the fire.

According to him, the fire on the slopes of Mount Ciremai was initially observed last Sunday at around 14:00 WIB, in the Ciletuk Block, Pesawahan District, Kuningan Regency, West Java. Then the officers managed to extinguish the fire on the same day at around 19.30 WIB.

The next day, Monday, September 26, said Teguh, officers again saw thick smoke and it turned out that there was a fire in the Tegal Bodas area and the fire continued to spread. "Until now we have not been able to extinguish it and the team continues to try to extinguish it", he said.

He added that the tools used to extinguish the fire ranged from manual methods using Gepyok (Fire Fighting Rubber), shovels, and hoes. There is also a jet shooter, spray machine, and hose.

According to him, officers encountered problems when trying to extinguish the fire, because the area that was burned was hilly and rocky.

"In addition, dry and thick bushes are also a problem in itself, plus strong winds", he said.