BBKSDA Closes Part Of The Gunung Papandayan Tourism Area Due To Fire

Officers monitored the Gunung Papandayan area, Garut Regency, West Java, some time ago. (ANTARA/HO-Cisrupan Police)

The West Java Natural Resources Conservation Center (BBKSDA) is still implementing closures for some tourist areas of Mount Papandayan, Garut Regency for tourists due to the impact of forest fires conservation in the area.

"Yes, while it is temporarily closed, the circular is that there is a circular letter from the head of the hall, that for climbing it is only an ordinary visit that is temporarily opened," said Head of Section V of the Garut Regency Conservation Section, Dodi Arisandi, as reported by ANTARA, Monday, October 30.

He said the temporary closure in the Gunung Papandayan area was specifically for hiking trails or areas that were dangerous for visitors because they still had the potential for forest fires.

The circular, he said, is that not all natural tourist areas of Mount Papandayan, some locations can still be visited, such as in the lower area, while climbing routes including the location of the Dead Forest are still prohibited for tourists.

"Actually, it's not allowed to be there in the Dead Forest, because of the climb," he said.

He instructed people who want to travel to Mount Papandayan to only be allowed to visit below, and have not been allowed to go up the mountain, let alone to the location of the danger of forest fires.

"We only instruct the visits below, don't go up," he said.

He said the forest fire on Mount Papandayan occurred on October 22, 2023, then it was successfully extinguished, but now it is reported that there is a puff of smoke that is estimated to still have a fire.

A number of joint officers, he said, had been deployed to put out forest fires again so that it would not continue to spread.

He revealed that the cause of the fire was still unknown, because at this time he was still focused on trying to extinguish the blaze, and ensured that no hotspots could trigger new hotspots.

"We are still focused on extinguishing the fire first, because there is a fire that arises, because the wind conditions are quite strong," he said.

Mount Papandayan is one of the leading natural tourism areas in Garut Regency that presents an open natural camp area, and there is also a large crater from a mountain eruption that has its own charm.