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Wildfires Sweep Mountains in E. Java
Dwi Lusiana | September 11, 2011

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DrDez
6:02am Sep 12, 2011

They probably heard about the $7 million


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Drought and human carelessness are being blamed for massive wildfires that have destroyed more than 150 hectares of vegetation on the slopes of Mount Bromo and Semeru in recent weeks.

The fires have affected 159 hectares of land between the two mountains in East Java, Sutrisno, the head of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS), said on Sunday.

“The fires were sparked by an abandoned campfire and carelessly discarded cigarette butts,” he said.

“The area that has been most badly affected has been Lautan Pasir, which sees the most people because it is the most popular climbing route.”

About 142 hectares of vegetation had been destroyed in the Lautan Pasir area, on the slopes of Bromo.

Sutrisno said religious and spiritual ceremonies that involved candles were another potential fire hazard on the dry slopes of the mountains.

Fires have become an annual occurrence in the park, especially during the dry season when the grass provides the perfect fuel and flames quickly spread between the two mountains, Sutrisno said.

“Our target this year is to limit the fires to 300 hectares, or 30 percent of the total area under the supervision of the national park,” he said.

The park will deploy more personnel to patrol the area with the help of villagers, he said. There are about 200 people, he added, who have been trained to put out fires before they can spread.

Authorities have also built four monitoring posts in park areas most prone to fires, and each post is being manned by 10 people, Sutrisno said.