TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Thick haze has prevented authorities from waterbombing large fires on the slopes of Mount Merbabu, officials said Thursday, October 8.
"The fog has covered the eastern slopes for three days now," said the Head of Mount Merbabu's Firefighting Department, Capt. Joko Priyanto, on Thursday.
That said, the Head of Boyolali's Command District, Lt. Col. Topri Daeng Balaw, said that one firefighting aircraft have already taken off from Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma Airport on Thursday morning at 10 am local time.
"The aircraft, pilot and technicians were deployed directly by the Ministery of Environments and Forestry - so we still don't know the exact detail of their task," he said.
Topri said that Boyolali authorities could assist by determining the location of the fire, coordinating officials on site as well as to prepare water for the waterbombing to commence. It is known that Boyolali's DIsaster Mitigation Department has prepapred 60,000 liters of water for the operation. "We will attempt to waterbomb the fires for two days - Thursday and Friday," he said.
Topri further explained that there are two fire spots on Mount Merbabu's forest reserves near the village of Ngargoloko in Ampel district, that the authorities are going to focus on. "We will be meeting in smaller groups to receive the latest update on the fire, as well as the coordinates and the weather of the location," he said. "It would be dangerous to attempt the operation when the fog has begun to set," he explained.
Conventional firefighting techniques will also be used alongside the waterbomber. "Officials on the ground will do their best to stop the fires from spreading - they are now digging steep trenches to prevent the fires from spreading," said Topri.
It is known that the aircraft is planned to make three trips everyday - with around 3,200 litres of water dropped on the site of the fire in one go.
According to the Head of Mount Merbabu National Park, Wisnu Wibowo, the fires were not deliberately caused by humans. "The drought that we're facing have caused fires across all mountain slopes in Indonesia," he said. "There are now fires on Mount Ngandong in Magelang - where no fires have ever been reported before."
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