A forest and land fire has once again struck the Anjasmoro Mountain area, specifically on the slopes of Mount Biru, Mojokerto Regency. Extreme hot weather and lack of rainfall are believed to have caused the fire to spread rapidly across the highly steep terrain.
The hotspot was first detected in the Tempuran Block, which falls within the Regional Conservation Resort (RKW) 06 of the Raden Soerjo Grand Forest Park (Tahura). Head of the Raden Soerjo Tahura UPT, Agustiningtyas Marini, confirmed that the fire location is in a very steep hilly area surrounded by deep ravines, making rapid manual firefighting efforts difficult.
The fire, located on the border of Gumeng Village and Begaganlimo Village in Gondang District, is clearly visible from a distance due to high plumes of smoke. Responders identified two separate hotspots located quite far apart, indicating that the affected area continues to expand.
To address the situation, Raden Soerjo Tahura has deployed four forest firefighting teams to the location. In addition, a special team has been stationed at the peak of Cendono Hill to monitor the movement of the fire and map out the safest evacuation and handling routes for field personnel.
The firefighting effort also involves intensive coordination with the Mojokerto Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), East Java Provincial BPBD, and local police forces. This synergy is being carried out given that the current dry weather conditions in Mojokerto range between 32 and 35 degrees Celsius, making the shrub vegetation highly flammable and accelerating the spread of the fire.
As the highest peak in the Anjasmoro Mountain range at an elevation of 2,331 meters above sea level (masl), Mount Biru is an important conservation area supporting the ecosystem in East Java. To date, joint personnel remain on standby and are continuing efforts to contain the fire so it does not spread to a wider core zone of the protected forest.
