JAKARTA, Aug 10 — A fire in Indonesia's Mount Bromo National Park in East Java that burned 550 hectares has been extinguished, but new hotspots have emerged near the volcano's caldera, an official said today.
The fire, which started on August 3, had affected 550 hectares as of yesterday before it was fully extinguished, Gatot Soebroto, head of the local disaster mitigation agency, told Reuters.
Gatot said authorities had since detected new fires covering about 20 hectares in areas around the caldera.
Mount Bromo is an active volcano and popular tourist destination, best known for its "sand sea" caldera. The national park covers more than 50,000 hectares.
"The fire around the caldera is likely to spread further on Monday," Gatot said.
More than 120 personnel, three water-bombing helicopters, drones and several fire engines have been deployed to tackle the fires around the caldera, he added.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the initial fire, although Gatot said carelessness was suspected.
"A person lit a fire, then put it out — but the fire was not fully extinguished," he said, adding that authorities reached the preliminary conclusion because the first flames were found along a route used by visitors.
The national park has been closed since Saturday evening because of the fires.
No casualties have been reported.
