The blaze had razed a forest area on the mountain since Sunday (Oct 20), Kusino of the Temanggung Forestry Unit stated here on Wednesday.
The wildfire has, until now, destroyed some 10 hectares of savanna and forest areas.
"We continue to make attempts to extinguish the fire, including by building partitions to prevent fire from spreading to wider area," he stated.
Difficult terrain, strong wind, and the absence of water sources in proximity to the location hampered the firefighting efforts.
Anton, the office's spokesman, confirmed that the North Kedu forestry office had stationed 65 personnel to help extinguish the fire.
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Wildfires lately razed several mountainous areas on Java Island, including Mount Cikuray, Mount Ringgit, Mounth Argopuro, Mount Semeru, Mount Arjuno, and Mount Welirang.
Information of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) showed that the authorities managed to put out wildfires on Mount Malabar, Mount Merapi, and Mount Andong.
Strong wind played spoilsport in the aerial firefighting efforts to put out wildfires on the slopes of Mount Arjuno and Mount Welirang in East Java Province on Monday (Oct 21).
"A turbulence caused the MI-8 helicopter to shake owing to which it later had to return to its base at the Abdul Rahman Saleh Air Force Base in Malang, East Java," Agus Wibowo, spokesman of BNPB, noted in a statement on Monday evening.
The turbulence was caused by strong wind that could endanger the safety of the helicopter deployed to conduct water bombing on the wildfires at identified spots, notably in the Maha Pena, Watu Bagong, and Curah Striti areas.
The strong wind reached speeds of 25 knots, while the normal speed for aviation is some 10 knots. The water bombing operation was halted and would resume on Tuesday. Related news: BMKG confirms spike in Sumatra's hotspots to reach 543
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Translator: Heru Suyitno, Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
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