Mount Arjuno Forest And Land Fires In Batu City Reach 916 Hectares

Archival photos. Fire burning forests and land (karhutla) in the Mount Arjuno area can be seen in Prigen, Pasuruan, East Java, Tuesday (5/9/2023)/ANTARA PHOTO/Umarul Faruq/tom)

BATU CITY - The Batu City Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) recorded the area of ​​Mount Arjuno forest and land fires (karhutla) in the Batu City area, East Java, reaching 916.33 hectares.

The Chief Executive (Kalaksa) of the Batu City Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) Agung Sedayu said that the forest and land fires also resulted in the death of flora and fauna in the area.

"The area burned on Mount Arjuno and in the Batu City area is approximately 916.33 hectares," said Agung as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, September 13.

He explained that the Batu City BPBD together with a number of related stakeholders had sent volunteers to handle forest and land fires on Mount Arjuno since September 1, 2023.

According to him, the joint team that was dispatched from the Brakseng climbing route, Bumiaji District to extinguish the fire, has extinguished approximately 27 fires in the Batu City area.

"Efforts to extinguish land have been carried out at approximately 27 coordinate points or hotspots of Mount Arjuno in the Batu City area," he said.

For your information, on September 13, 2023, no hotspots were found on Mount Arjuno in the Batu City area, based on visual monitoring or the Sipongi application. However, Batu City BPBD continues to monitor and evaluate current conditions.

"We continue to monitor, monitor and evaluate the current situation of the development of the Mount Arjuno forest fire," he said.

The joint team involved in the fire extinguishing operation was personnel from Batu City BPBD, Tahura Raden Soerjo, Batu City Health Service, TNI, Polri, Batu City Civil Service Police Unit, Perhutani, Disaster Risk Reduction Forum (FPRB) and Tagana.

Then, it also involved the East Java Provincial Disaster Agent, Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) Batu City, Linmas, Penoling Brigade 13.38 Batu City, a number of volunteer organizations and the local community.

The Batu City Government has also issued a Decree (SK) on Emergency Response Status for the Mount Arjuno Forest Fire Disaster in the Batu City Area Number 188.45/269/KEP/422.012/2023 by the Acting Mayor of Batu City, Aries Agung Paewai.

In efforts to handle fires in the Mount Arjuno area, a water bombing operation has also been carried out by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB). Mount Arjuno's emergency handling post for forest and land fires has been opened in the Kaliandra area, Pasuruan Regency.

The forest and land fire in the Mount Arjuno area first occurred in the Budug Asu Hill area, Singosari District, Malang Regency on August 26, 2023. The fire spread to various areas such as Pasuruan Regency, Mojokerto and Batu City.*