TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Ciremai becomes the fourth mountain area to be engulfed by fire this month after Mount Lawu, Mount Sindoro, and Mount Sumbing. As of Tuesday evening, September 18, firefighters still weren`t able to put out the flames.
Agus Mauludin, head of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) for Kuningan Regency, West Java, said that as of 19:00 last night the fire is still burning, "heading towards the east or bottom, and west or up (of the mountain)."
Agus said that the fire in the Mount Ciremai forest area was first known by the public around 12:30 on Tuesday. He added that they don't have enough men to fight the fire.
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"There are 40 people trying to put out the fire, including men from the BPBD, Satpol PP, TNGC, TNI, Polri, LSM AKAR, and residents," he said.
He estimates that up to now, the size of land that had been burned is around 50 hectares. But since the fire is still ablaze, it is likely that the size will expand.
"As the fire has not been extinguished, the provisional estimate is around 50 hectares," he said.
The difficulties to extinguish the fire include difficult terrains. Moreover, the forest is very dry because of the dry season, making the fire spread faster.
ANTARA
