JAKARTA: A fire in Indonesia’s Mount Bromo National Park in East Java that burnt 550 hectares has been extinguished, an official said on Monday, but there are new hotspots near the caldera.
Authorities, though, have found new fires in areas around the caldera covering some 20 hectares, said Gatot Soebroto, head of the local disaster mitigation agency.
“The fire around the caldera is likely to spread further on Monday,” he added.
More than 120 personnel, three water-bombing helicopters, drones and some fire trucks have been deployed to put out the fires around the caldera, Gatot said.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire, but Gatot said they suspect it was caused by carelessness.
“A person lit a fire, then put it out – but the fire was not fully extinguished,” Gatot said, adding this conclusion was reached because the first flame was found along a route used by visitors.
Mount Bromo is an active volcano and is a popular tourist destination and best known for its “sand sea” caldera. The national park covers over 50,000 hectares.
The national park has been closed since Saturday evening because of the fires. There have been no casualties reported.
