A forest and land fire (karhutla) has struck the Mount Gombak or Mount Nglarangan area, located in Karanggayam Hamlet, Sukosari Village, Kauman District, Ponorogo Regency, East Java. The blaze, which raged from Monday afternoon until early Tuesday morning, reportedly scorched approximately 15 hectares of forest and land area.
Head of the Ponorogo Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Masun, explained that the fire hotspot was first detected on Monday at around 15:00 WIB. Joint personnel required approximately eight hours to bring the flames under control. Authorities are currently conducting further investigations regarding the trigger of the fire.
According to Masun, the fire first appeared at the bottom of the slope and rapidly spread upwards. The wildfire initially burned the northern side of the mountain, before expanding to the west, east, and part of the southern side. Suppression efforts were carried out manually using simple tools such as flappers (gepyok) as well as the creation of firebreaks to disrupt the spread of the fire.
The firefighting operation involved synergy among various parties, including personnel from the BPBD, TNI, Polri, Perhutani, volunteers, village officials, and local residents. Although the fire came within about 100 meters of residential areas, authorities confirmed that the flames did not reach any homes.
In addition to focusing on Mount Gombak, BPBD Ponorogo is also monitoring and logging potential land fires in several other districts, including Sampung, Sambit, and Balong. Amid the dry season and strong winds, the public is urged to remain vigilant and avoid leaving any ignition source unattended in open areas prone to triggering new fires.
