August 30, 2026 | 05:04 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - News about the forest fires in the Mount Merapi area circulated on Saturday, August 29, 2026. The Mount Merapi National Park Office (BTNGM) confirmed that the information has been followed up with monitoring at several locations.
Heri Wibowo, the head of the Mount Merapi National Park Office, stated that park officers checked reports from the public regarding suspected fires in the park area. According to the monitoring results, there were no active fires.
"We continue to monitor visually, direct field inspections, and through SiPongi (the Ministry of Forestry's forest fire monitoring system) to monitor the presence of fire points," said Heri when confirmed on Saturday, August 29, 2026.
According to Heri, the information about the fire relates to the hot cloud eruption of Mount Merapi on Friday night, August 28, 2026. The hot cloud eruption occurred at 21:22 local time with an estimated distance of 2,000 meters southwest, or upstream of the Sat/Putih River.
The hot cloud reached the vegetative boundary, causing the vegetation to burn. However, according to visual observations by officers at the Forest Fire Post on Friday night, the fire did not escalate.
On Saturday morning, the Mount Merapi National Park Office also received reports from the public about a fire in the Babadan area, northwest side of Mount Merapi. Officers then observed several points and found smoke. After checking around the location, the situation was under control.
Until Saturday afternoon, observations from the Jurang Jero forest fire tower did not find any smoke. Observations from the Mount Merapi Monitoring Post in Babadan did not reveal any smoke or fire, either.
Nevertheless, the Mount Merapi National Park Office still maintains personnel readiness to anticipate forest fires. The Forest Fire Coordination Post is located at the Resort Office for the Management of the National Park Area in Srumbung, Magelang, with personnel including civil servants, Manggala Agni, as well as forest police and fire-care community partners.
The Mount Merapi National Park Office urges the public to report any fires in the park area immediately. Reports can be made through the Call Center at 081555777002, Head of the PTN Area I Section at 0811-2909-512, Head of the PTN Srumbung Area Resort at 0822-2147-2817, or Polhut Coordinator at 0813-2692-6325.
Read: Water-Bombing Helicopter Drops 69,000 Liters on West Papua Fires
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