DistantNews
Support us
🇮🇩 Indonesia /Environment & Climate

Fire Spreads Across Mount Ijen Conservation Area

From CNN Indonesia · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • A forest and land fire has spread through the Merapi Ungup-Ungup Nature Reserve on Mount Ijen in East Java, Indonesia.
  • Officials said flames first appeared around midnight on Sept. 3 and have remained visible from settlements on the Ijen slopes.
  • Conservation authorities are mobilizing firefighting teams, but poor communications have delayed estimates of the affected area and response force.

Flames have been visible from several settlements on the slopes of Mount Ijen as a fire spreads through the Merapi Ungup-Ungup Nature Reserve in East Java.

The blaze was first detected around midnight on Sept. 3, according to Purwantono, head of the Jember regional conservation office. He said the first reported fire point lay deep inside the upper part of the reserve, near the mountain’s upper slopes.

The initial information placed the fire point inside the upper part of the Merapi Ungup-Ungup Nature Reserve. Our teams in the field are still mobilizing to access the location and carry out firefighting.

· PurwantonoThe regional conservation official described the location of the fire and the response effort.

Teams were being mobilized to reach the site and begin firefighting, but the conservation agency had not yet determined how much land had burned or how many personnel had been deployed. Weak communications in the Merapi Ungup-Ungup area have complicated both the response and the collection of information.

Purwantono said the dry season had increased the risk of fires in the protected area. Piles of dry vegetation and leaves can ignite easily, while strong winds typical of highland terrain can cause flames to spread quickly.

The dry season is highly dangerous. Dry vegetation can spread fire quickly when exposed to an ignition source and blown by the wind.

· PurwantonoHe explained why the conservation area faces a heightened fire risk.
About this summary

Originally published by CNN Indonesia in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog