A forest fire has once again struck the protected area of Mount Soputan in Southeast Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi. The local Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) estimates that the vegetation area consumed by the fire has reached between 50 to 100 hectares, and this figure has the potential to increase as extinguishing efforts are still ongoing.
The Head of the Emergency and Logistics Division of the Southeast Minahasa Regency BPBD, Julex Wanga, explained that his team immediately took quick action upon receiving reports of the incident on Sunday morning. A joint team was deployed directly to the fire location to conduct a rapid assessment and map the main fire points.
Emergency response steps were immediately taken through cross-sector coordination to accelerate the extinguishing process. However, the characteristics of the land, which is dominated by cogon grass (alang-alang) and dry pine trees, caused the fire to spread rapidly, making containment efforts difficult for officers on the ground.
Until now, firefighting personnel along with related agencies are still on standby and attempting to extinguish the remaining embers. This incident recalls a similar fire in early September 2023, when the protected forest area of the active volcano burned up to one thousand hectares.
