The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park wildfire was a deadly fire that erupted in recent days in the Mentigen and Pusung Lingker areas of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java’s Probolinggo regency, Indonesia.
Incident
On Thursday, a 12-member firefighting team consisting of national park personnel, members of a community fire brigade, and local volunteers was trying to contain the wildfire when they became trapped by thick smoke and rapidly spreading flames. Strong winds fanned the flames and caused the fire to spread quickly through dry vegetation.
At about 1:30 p.m., firefighters operating outside the danger zone received an emergency call from colleagues who had become trapped. Rescuers later found three people dead and three others suffering severe burns at an evacuation point. One of those suffering burns died while receiving treatment. Two volunteers remained hospitalized with serious burn injuries after being transferred to Dr. Soetomo General Hospital in Surabaya. Six others escaped unharmed.
The incident occurred in a remote mountainous area, complicating rescue efforts. Emergency crews carried victims on stretchers for about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) because steep terrain prevented vehicles from reaching the site. Authorities completed the evacuation late Thursday.
Investigation
Police launched an investigation into the deaths, including whether negligence or criminal wrongdoing contributed to the tragedy. Investigators were collecting evidence and interviewing survivors.
Context
The fire followed a major blaze in August that scorched nearly 9 square kilometers (3.5 square miles) of grassland and vegetation, including protected edelweiss flowers, in the park.
The deaths came as Indonesia intensified efforts to combat forest and land fires that have worsened in 2026 as El Niño intensified a prolonged dry season. Contributing factors also include land clearance using fire in the Indonesian part of Borneo and regions of Sumatra Island, as well as water shortages that have hampered Indonesian firefighters, who have received assistance from Japan.
Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry recorded 799 hotspots nationwide as of Thursday evening, up sharply from 372 a day earlier. More than three-quarters were concentrated in six fire-prone provinces on Sumatra and Borneo. Toxic haze and smoke have caused a health crisis in neighboring countries, drifting as far as the Philippines, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) away. The surge in fires renewed concerns about transboundary haze across Southeast Asia. Malaysia ordered hundreds of schools closed in several states because of deteriorating air quality. Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan rejected calls to seek compensation from Indonesia, saying the crisis should be addressed through diplomatic engagement and ASEAN mechanisms. Singapore called for closer cooperation, and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said authorities were investigating companies allegedly linked to Indonesian forest and peatland fires under Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act.
Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry recorded more than 2,020 square kilometers (780 square miles) of burned land between January and July 2026, almost three times Singapore’s size. The independent Nusantara Atlas project estimated that nearly 8,960 square kilometers (3,460 square miles) of land had burned by the end of August in Indonesia.