Authorities have closed Indonesia's Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park until further notice after a wildfire scorched roughly 176 hectares of land on Mount Bromo in East Java. Visitors have been barred from the site since late August 8.
Park officials suspect the blaze was sparked by human activity near the Bantengan cliff area, possibly from a campfire left by hikers on a traditional route. Another report attributed the fire to land-clearing work. East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa inspected the firefighting effort on August 7 as crews tackled multiple remaining hotspots.
Hundreds of firefighters, rangers, police, soldiers and volunteers have been mobilized, aided by two water-bombing helicopters and drone drops, though steep terrain with slopes up to 70 degrees has hampered operations. The disaster adds to a toll of more than 107,000 hectares lost to fire across Indonesia in the first half of 2026.