Gunung Butak forest fire triggers water bombing operations

A forest and land fire continues to burn in the Petak 100 area of Gunung Butak, located in the Pujon district of Malang Regency. Although the fire had previously been declared extinguished, new hotspots emerged on Friday, September 4, 2026.

On Saturday, September 5, emergency responders deployed a BPBD East Java helicopter to conduct water bombing operations. The helicopter performed eight sorties, dropping approximately 8,000 liters of water in total. However, the aerial operation was temporarily halted around 1:30 PM due to high wind speeds.

A joint task force consisting of approximately 65 personnel from the TNI, Polri, Perhutani, LMDH, and various volunteers is continuing firefighting efforts on the ground. The extreme terrain and strong winds have made manual firefighting difficult and risky.