Baluran National Park Temporarily Closed Due To Forest Fire

DOCUMENTATION/fire of teak forests in the Baluran Situbondo National Park area, East Java. Sunday (11/6/2023) ANTARA/Novi Husdinariyanto

JAKARTA - Access to the Baluran National Park in Situbondo, East Java, was temporarily closed due to the forest fire incident which had been going on for three days and until now the fire has not been extinguished.

The Daily Executive of the Head of the Balan National Park Office, Probo Wresni Adji, said that the closure of access was for the safety of visitors and made it easier for officers to extinguish fires that burned forest areas.

"The Baluran National Park is declared closed from September 25 to 30, 2023," Probo wrote in a circular quoted by ANTARA, Monday, September 25.

The forest fire incident that occurred in the Baluran National Park was discovered for the first time on September 23, 2023. The location of the fire is on Mount Baluran, east of which is adjacent to the Route I tourist location (Batangan-Bekol-Bama).

Currently, officers are still struggling to extinguish the fire that burns dry plants due to the long dry season.

Access to locations that are difficult to reach four-wheeled vehicles and the distance from remote water sources makes the view process last a long time.

Balan National Park is a natural conservation area that has an original ecosystem managed with a zoning system that is used for research, science, education, supports cultivation, tourism, and recreation purposes.

The national park has about 444 types of plants. Some of these collections are native plants that are distinctive and able to adapt in very dry conditions.