KABUL (Pajhwok): Indonesian authorities say a large wildfire at Mount Bromo National Park in East Java has been contained after burning around 550 hectares of land, although fresh fires have been detected near the volcano’s crater.
Reuters reported that Gatot Subroto, head of the local disaster management agency, said the fire broke out on August 3 and had affected around 550 hectares by Sunday.
He said the fire was later contained and fully extinguished. However, authorities have detected new fires across about 20 hectares near the volcano’s crater and warned that they could spread further.
According to the report, more than 120 emergency personnel, three water-bombing helicopters, drones and several fire engines have been deployed to tackle the new fires.
The exact cause of the wildfire remains unknown, but local authorities suspect it may have been caused by human negligence.
Mount Bromo National Park has been closed to visitors since Saturday evening due to the fire. No casualties have been reported so far.
Mount Bromo is an active volcano and one of Indonesia’s popular tourist attractions. The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, which includes Mount Bromo, covers more than 50,000 hectares.
hz/sa
