Kebakaran melanda Hutan Savana Bukit Sempana di Desa Sembalun Bumbung, Kecamatan Sembalun, Kabupaten Lombok Timur, Nusa Tenggara Barat — kawasan yang menjadi gerbang utama jalur pendakian Gunung Rinjani via Sembalun. Tim gabungan Kementerian Kehutanan (Kemenhut), TNI, dan Polri berhasil memadamkan api yang membakar sekitar 282 hektare kawasan hutan lindung tersebut, sekaligus mengevakuasi 25 pendaki dan wisatawan demi memastikan keselamatan mereka dari potensi rambatan api.

A fire swept through the Bukit Sempana savanna forest in Sembalun Bumbung Village, Sembalun District, East Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara — an area that serves as the main gateway to the Sembalun trail up Mount Rinjani. A joint team from the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut), the Indonesian military (TNI), and police (Polri) extinguished the blaze, which burned roughly 282 hectares of protected forest, while evacuating 25 hikers and tourists to keep them safe from the spreading flames.

Api pertama kali terdeteksi pada Selasa, 9 Juni 2026 sekitar pukul 17.00 WITA dari arah Swela Pringabaya sebelum merambat ke Bukit Sempana. Petugas Resort Sembalun sempat melakukan pemadaman awal hingga malam hari, namun terkendala keterbatasan personel, logistik, medan terjal, dan kondisi gelap. Tim Balai Pengendalian Kebakaran Hutan (Dalkarhut) Wilayah Jawa Bali Nusa Tenggara baru bergerak ke lokasi pukul 20.19 WITA dan tiba di Resort Sembalun pukul 22.52 WITA. Operasi pemadaman berlanjut keesokan harinya dengan peralatan seperti jet shooter, gepyok, dan parang, hingga akhirnya titik api terakhir berhasil dipadamkan pada Kamis, 11 Juni 2026 pukul 16.00 WITA.

The fire was first detected on Tuesday, June 9, 2026 at around 5:00 p.m. local time (WITA), originating from the Swela Pringabaya direction before spreading to Bukit Sempana. Resort Sembalun staff carried out initial suppression into the night but were hampered by limited personnel, logistics, rugged terrain, and darkness. A team from the Forest Fire Control Center for the Java-Bali-Nusa Tenggara region only departed for the site at 8:19 p.m. and arrived at Resort Sembalun at 10:52 p.m. Suppression efforts continued the next day using jet shooters, gepyok (fire beaters), and machetes, until the last hotspot was finally extinguished on Thursday, June 11, 2026 at 4:00 p.m.

Kepala Balai Dalkarhut Wilayah Jawa Bali Nusa Tenggara, Bambang Setyo Antoko, menjelaskan bahwa operasi di Bukit Sempana dijalankan dengan dua prioritas: menghentikan rambatan api dan memastikan keselamatan pendaki di sekitar lokasi. Ia menyebut tim harus membaca arah angin, memutus jalur rambatan, serta melakukan penyisiran agar bara tidak menyala kembali, sembari terus memantau titik api melalui Sipongi — sistem pemantauan hotspot nasional milik Kemenhut yang menjadi alat deteksi dini kebakaran hutan.

Bambang Setyo Antoko, Head of the Forest Fire Control Center for the Java-Bali-Nusa Tenggara region, explained that the Bukit Sempana operation was carried out with two priorities: stopping the fire's spread and ensuring the safety of hikers nearby. He said teams had to read wind direction, cut off the fire's path, and conduct mop-up sweeps to prevent flare-ups, all while monitoring hotspots through Sipongi — Kemenhut's national hotspot monitoring system used for early fire detection.

Penyebab pasti kebakaran masih didalami petugas. Informasi awal di lapangan mengindikasikan adanya dugaan aktivitas perburuan liar di sekitar kawasan. Bambang menegaskan bahwa jika dugaan tersebut benar, persoalannya bukan sekadar kerusakan kawasan hutan, melainkan juga ancaman langsung terhadap keselamatan pendaki, masyarakat sekitar, dan petugas yang bertugas di lapangan.

The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation. Preliminary field findings point to suspected illegal poaching activity in the area. Bambang stressed that if the suspicion is confirmed, the issue goes beyond forest damage alone — it also poses a direct threat to the safety of hikers, nearby communities, and field personnel.

"Manggala Agni adalah ujung tombak negara dalam menghadapi kebakaran hutan. Mereka bekerja di medan berat, sering kali dengan akses terbatas, untuk memastikan api tidak merusak lebih luas."

"Manggala Agni is the nation's spearhead in confronting forest fires. They work in difficult terrain, often with limited access, to ensure fires do not cause wider damage."

— Dwi Januanto Nugroho, Direktur Jenderal Penegakan Hukum Kehutanan, KemenhutDirector General of Forestry Law Enforcement, Kemenhut

Kawasan hutan Sembalun memiliki nilai ekologis dan sosial yang besar — bukan hanya sebagai jalur pendakian terpopuler ke Rinjani, tetapi juga sumber air dan ruang hidup bagi masyarakat sekitar. Kemenhut mengajak pemerintah daerah, pengelola kawasan, masyarakat, dan pengunjung untuk meningkatkan kewaspadaan terhadap potensi kebakaran, termasuk disiplin menghindari sumber api dan segera melaporkan titik api yang terdeteksi. Bagi komunitas pendaki, insiden ini menjadi pengingat bahwa keselamatan jalur Sembalun tidak hanya soal medan dan cuaca, tetapi juga kesiapan menghadapi risiko kebakaran hutan di musim kering.

The Sembalun forest area holds major ecological and social value — not only as the most popular trekking route to Rinjani, but also as a water source and living space for local communities. Kemenhut is calling on local governments, area managers, communities, and visitors to stay alert to fire risk, including avoiding ignition sources and promptly reporting detected hotspots. For the hiking community, the incident is a reminder that safety on the Sembalun route is not just about terrain and weather, but also readiness for forest fire risk during the dry season.