Govt Moves to Extinguish Land Fire in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park

RRI.CO.ID, Malang – The Indonesian government is working to extinguish a land fire in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java. The fire has been detected in the national park since last week, and about 176 hectares of land have now been burned amid the dry season in East Java.

Indonesia's Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni, inspected the firefighting operation on Sunday, August 9, 2026, with the Vice Governor of East Java, Emil Dardak. He said three helicopters had been deployed to conduct 30 water-bombing operations, in addition to ground firefighting.

"We were told that they would be able to carry out as many as 30 water-bombing operations," Minister Antoni said, as published in his social media account on Sunday.

"There had already been 17 (operations) earlier, and there may have been further developments since then," he continued.

Antoni explained that slopes inaccessible to firefighters and strong winds posed particular challenges, but he hoped that all fire hotspots could be extinguished. He also said he had ordered the national park to be closed temporarily to facilitate firefighting.

"I have instructed the head of the national park management to temporarily close Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park completely. There's one goal: to allow everyone to focus on extinguishing the fire while also anticipating the possibility of fires breaking out elsewhere," he said.

Meanwhile, Emil confirmed that three helicopters are deployed. Over 200 personnel are deployed, as well as drones, to extinguish the fire.

“There are three helicopters, three spray drones, seven firefighting vehicles, one water tanker, and more than 200 personnel deployed,” he said, as quoted from his personal social media account on Sunday.

Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park is home to the famous Mount Bromo, known for its majestic sunrise view. It is also home to Mount Semeru, the highest mountain in Java.