The increasing intensity of wildfire occurences such as the fire happened on Mt Merbabu and Sumbing in Central Java in the last two days has prompted Gunugkidul Regency to do closer watch on its settlements and farmland areas which are located nearby forests.
“Last year, the wildfire on the hill happened three times during the drought, there was only one happened this year, we want to prevent it from recurring,” said Nugroho Wahyu, the Disaster Mitigation and Awareness Section Head of Gunungkidul Disaster Mitigation Agency to Tempo on Saturday.
Last year, the fire around the settlements and farmlands were mostly due to people negligence such as leaving their hay stacks on the field. The hay stacks were caught by the wildfire and the wind quickly spread it. Some residents left the fire burning after cooking meal nearby the forest.
“Teak is the vegetation that makes the forest prone to wildfire during the drought, for it’s leaves falls to the ground and easily caught on fire from below,” Sabam Benedictus Silalahi, Head of Gunungkidul Forestry Agency, explained the characteristic of forests in Gunungkidul.
Since early on August, the agency has been actively sending reminders to the people via local radio so that people continue ti stay alert about the wildfire danger. Tempo