Bromo Wildfire Spreads to 921 Hectares

Malang: Forest fire in the area of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) continues to spread to 921,42 hectares. Preliminary data from the Malang Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, showed that the forest fire has now spread to the Ptobolinggo until Pananjakan area in Pasuruan regency.

Head of the Emergency and Logistics Division, Malang Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Sadono Irawan, said that figure was still preliminary and being re-verified. The spreading of affected areas is being a concern because fire is monitored at some spots with rugged terrain.

“The estimated area of land burned in total is around 921,42 hectares now with vegetation type (including) mountain pine, mentigen, acacia, and thickets. The developed data is undergoing re-verification,” said Sadono, Wednesday, August 12, 2026.

The fire was first detected in Kaldera Bromo area, specifically on Jantur/Bantengan Hill, Probolinggo Regency, on August 3, 2026. Two days later, the winds drove the fire to spread into administrative region of Malang Regency.

Now, the biggest hotspot is still in the Pakis Bincil Dingklik area, while hotspots have been reported to be zero. In Penanjakan area, there are still some fires left and continue to be handled by the joint team.

The firefighting efforts are done through land and air routes at the same time to reduce the spread of the fire. The land teams create firebreaks, wet the accessible area, do the manual handling by using gepyok and the tank fleet.

While from the air route, three helicopters implement water bombing to Pusung Duwur target point in the Dingklik area. The operation is executed alternately following flight operating standards caused by weather and limited visibility.

“Water bombing is carried out with three helicopters from BNPB (National Disaster Management Agency), arranged alternately following flight SOP (operation standard), with total 16 Rit, 5 Sortie of 37.000 litres,” stated Sadono.

Until Tuesday, the total of water that had been dropped through water bombing operation since air management was started had reached 205.800 litres. Drone water spray of BPBD East Java also helped through dousing hotspot and preventing embers from reigniting.

Conditions in affected areas are still affected by fog and wisps of smoke which limits visibility towards target points. A quite strong wind and rugged terrain also causes manual firefighting and air operation cannot be realized to the fullest extent.

“Fog and wisps of smoke cause water bombing operation can not be maximized because of limited visibility to the operational target point,” explained Sadono.

To anticipate further spread of the fire, the ground team observes and maps the hotspots on Wednesday, August 12, 2026. The coordination with Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency will also be intensified to gain information on the potential of cloud development that can affect water bombing operations.

All entrance gates to the tourism area of Bromo are also still temporarily closed since Saturday, August 8, 2026 at 22:00 West Indonesian Time. The closure takes effect in Cemorolawang, Wonokitri, Jemplang, Coban Trisula, and Senduro until further notice.