Indonesia closes national park in East Java as wildfire expands

Firefighters struggle to battle the growing blaze near Mount Bromo in thick forest and steep terrain.

Indonesian authorities have closed off all access to Mount Bromo national park in East Java province as a fast-moving wildfire has nearly tripled in size.

The park operator announced on Saturday that it has barred visitors from Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, located near an active volcano that regularly draws crowds of tourists. Rudijanta Tjahja Nugraha, the park chief, said the closure would remain in effect until further notice.

“This closure is a crucial step to maintain safety of visitors, staff and people in the surrounding areas,” the park operator said on its Instagram page, noting that those who have already bought an entrance ticket during the closure may seek a refund.

Indonesia mobilised hundreds of firefighters, disaster management personnel, police, soldiers, park rangers and volunteers on Sunday to contain the blaze, which has consumed roughly 176 hectares (435 acres) of Mount Bromo since it broke out on Monday. The fire has grown from about 60 hectares (150 acres) on Thursday, officials said.

Water-bombing helicopters and water-spraying drones were also deployed to help battle the fire.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said on Sunday that steep terrain, whipping winds and the fire’s location in forested areas had made it difficult for firefighters to reach the blaze by foot.

“These conditions make air operations crucial to reach areas that cannot be accessed optimally by land,” Muhari added.

Indonesia is expected to struggle with an unusually intense dry season this year, in part due to the El Nino weather pattern, which sees particularly warm sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, the Indonesian weather agency BMKG said.

Fires have burned roughly 1,070sq km (415sq miles) of Indonesian land this year, more than twice the area that burned in 2023.

That year, a blaze burned more than 500 hectares (1,235 acres) of land on Mount Bromo after a couple lit a flare during a wedding photo shoot.