KLHK Deploys A Team Of Brigades To Handle Forest Fires On Mount Arjuno

Illustration: Officers are trying to extinguish the fire that burned the land. (ANTARA/HO-Ministry of Environment and Forestry)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) stated that it had deployed a Brigade Team to handle cases of forest fires that occurred in Mount Arjuno, East Java.

"We have deployed a forest and land fire control Brigade to extinguish the fire," said KLHK Director of Forest and Land Control Thomas Nifinluri as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, September 7.

Thomas said that his party had also communicated with the local government (Pemda) in an effort to handle cases of forest fires on Mount Arjuno.

Even the KLHK also invited the community to volunteer to carry out fire fighting activities.

Various fire equipment in the form of back pumps and hand utensils have also been sent to assist fire fighting efforts, including water bombings through helicopters known as water bombings.

"We implemented the extinguishing technique by setting the barriers on fire and burning back," said Thomas.

Since August 26, 2023, the dense forest and shrubs in Mount Arjuno have caught fire. The fire first occurred in the Bukit Budug Asu area, Singosari District, Malang Regency.

The fire spread to various regions, including Pasuruan, Mojokerto, and Batu Regencies.

The Batu City Government (Pemkot) has issued a Decree on the Emergency Response Status of the Mount Arjuno Forest Fire Disaster in the area.

The East Java Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) noted that the fire incident on Mount Arjuno had scorched more than 4,000 hectares of forest in the Raden Soerjo Grand Forest Park area.