Indonesia closes Mount Bromo as wildfire expands rapidly

Indonesia's Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park has been closed until further notice following a wildfire that has ravaged 176 hectares of land on Mount Bromo since Monday. This blaze is part of a series of fires currently burning across Indonesia, prompting the mobilization of hundreds of firefighters, park rangers, police, soldiers, and volunteers.

The situation is deemed challenging due to high winds, rough terrain, and difficult access on steep volcanic slopes, requiring air operations to combat the flames. The Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency attributes the fire's spread to dry conditions and winds. The fire is believed to have started during land clearing activities, though such fires are typically set illegally by plantation owners and farmers to prepare for planting.

This year's El Nino weather pattern and seasonal dry winds from Australia have exacerbated the risk of wildfires and drought, with Indonesia already losing over 107,000 hectares of land to fires in the first half of 2026, more than double the area destroyed in 2023.