The forested area on Mount Gombak—also known as Mount Nglarangan—in Karanggayam Hamlet, Sukosari Village, Kauman District, Ponorogo Regency, East Java, suffered a major fire. This forest and land fire occurred from Monday (13/7) afternoon until early Tuesday (14/7) morning, destroying at least 15 hectares of forest area.
The Chief Executive of the Ponorogo Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Masun, explained that hotspots were first observed on Monday afternoon around 3:00 PM WIB. The flames reportedly started at the base of the slope and quickly spread upward, consuming the northern, western, eastern, and part of the southern sides of the mountain.
To extinguish the flames, a joint team consisting of BPBD personnel, the Indonesian Military (TNI), National Police (Polri), Perhutani, volunteers, and local residents was deployed to the location. They had to battle for approximately eight hours to manually extinguish the fire using traditional beaters (gepyok) and creating firebreaks to prevent the fire from spreading.
Extinguishing efforts finally bore fruit around midnight. Although the fire had advanced to within about 100 meters of residential areas, officials confirmed that no homes were damaged in the incident. Nevertheless, field personnel remain on alert to monitor the situation and anticipate potential new hotspots.
Besides Mount Gombak, Ponorogo BPBD recorded forest and land fires occurring in several other areas, such as Sampung, Sambit, and Balong districts. In response to dry season conditions, authorities have urged the public not to burn land indiscriminately and to ensure fires are completely extinguished before leaving open areas to prevent similar fires from recurring.
