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Api yang menjalar di lereng Bromo tidak berhenti di kebun warga. Pada 15 Oktober 2026, enam orang yang berusaha memadamkannya terjebak di tengah kobaran api. Empat meninggal pada hari itu. Dua lainnya meninggal setelah dirawat berhari-hari. Pada 23 Oktober 2026, seluruhnya telah pergi.

A fire running down the slopes of Bromo does not stop at a farmer's field. On October 15, 2026, six people trying to put it out were trapped in the flames. Four died that day. Two more died after days of treatment. By October 23, 2026, all of them were gone.

Kementerian Kehutanan mencatat awal kejadiannya. Selasa, 13 Oktober 2026 pukul 14.23 WIB, petugas menerima laporan dari Kepala Desa Ngadas soal kebakaran ladang warga di sekitar Blok Pusung Dawa. Titik itu berbatasan dengan kawasan Taman Nasional Bromo Tengger Semeru (TNBTS) di Grid A83, wilayah Desa Ngadirejo, Kabupaten Probolinggo. Lokasi jauh dari sumber air, jadi pemadaman dilakukan manual dengan alat gebyok. Api sempat dipadamkan Rabu, 14 Oktober 2026 pukul 11.45.

The Ministry of Forestry recorded how it began. On Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at 14.23 Western Indonesian Time, officers received a report from the head of Ngadas village about a field fire near Pusung Dawa block. The spot borders the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) at Grid A83, in Ngadirejo village, Probolinggo regency. The location was far from water, so crews fought the fire manually with gebyok tools. The flames were extinguished on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 11.45.

Kamis pagi, 15 Oktober 2026 pukul 09.20, asap tebal kembali terlihat dari Posko Karhut Cemoro Lawang. Empat petugas jaga berangkat ke lokasi. Karena api membesar, dukungan personel menyusul, termasuk petugas dari pemegang izin sarana wisata alam. Sekitar pukul 13.00 WIB, angin kencang mengubah arah kebakaran. Enam personel terjebak di tengah api. Lima personel lain selamat karena berada di sisi berlawanan.

On Thursday morning, October 15, 2026, at 09.20, thick smoke was seen again from the Cemoro Lawang fire post. Four duty officers headed to the site. As the fire grew, more personnel followed, including staff from the holder of a nature tourism business permit. At around 13.00, strong winds shifted the fire. Six people were trapped. Five others survived because they were on the opposite side.

Enam nama itu: Sukaris (55), petugas Balai Besar TNBTS; Hendra Rony Wagiyanata, petugas TNBTS dari Manggala Agni; Munawi (44), petugas TNBTS; Wisnu Yuda Pratama (25), karyawan Artotel Bromo; Sefriel Ardiansyah (19), petugas sekuriti PT Mitra Indo Permai yang juga atlet panjat tebing Kota Probolinggo; dan Suraji, petugas sekuriti Artotel Bromo asal Desa Lumbang.

The six are Sukaris (55), an officer of the TNBTS park authority; Hendra Rony Wagiyanata, a TNBTS officer from Manggala Agni; Munawi (44), a TNBTS officer; Wisnu Yuda Pratama (25), an Artotel Bromo employee; Sefriel Ardiansyah (19), a security officer at PT Mitra Indo Permai who was also a sport climbing athlete from Probolinggo; and Suraji, a security officer at Artotel Bromo from Lumbang village.

Munawi meninggal Senin, 19 Oktober 2026 pukul 14.55 WIB di RSUD Dr Soetomo Surabaya. Suraji menyusul Jumat, 23 Oktober 2026 pukul 12.00 WIB di rumah sakit yang sama, setelah sembilan hari dirawat dan sempat menjalani cangkok kulit. Direktur RSUD Tongas Probolinggo, dr Catur Prangga Wadana, menyebut para korban rata-rata mengalami luka bakar di atas 50 persen, dengan cedera berat pada saluran napas akibat menghirup asap panas.

Munawi died on Monday, October 19, 2026, at 14.55 at Dr Soetomo Hospital in Surabaya. Suraji followed on Friday, October 23, 2026, at 12.00 at the same hospital, after nine days of treatment and a skin graft operation. dr Catur Prangga Wadana, director of Tongas Hospital in Probolinggo, said the victims suffered burns over more than 50 percent of their bodies, with severe airway injuries from inhaling hot smoke.

Pemerintah Provinsi Jawa Timur menanggung seluruh biaya pengobatan. Gubernur Khofifah Indar Parawansa menyiapkan santunan Rp10 juta bagi setiap keluarga korban. Wakil Gubernur Emil Elestianto Dardak menyebut mereka gugur saat melindungi warga dari meluasnya kebakaran. Kementerian Kehutanan menyampaikan duka cita dan mengingatkan bahwa penggunaan api di dekat kawasan hutan harus memperhitungkan risiko penjalaran, terutama saat cuaca kering dan angin kencang.

The East Java provincial government covered all medical costs. Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa prepared Rp10 million in compensation for each victim's family. Deputy Governor Emil Elestianto Dardak said they died protecting residents from a wider fire. The Ministry of Forestry expressed its condolences and reminded the public that any use of fire near forest areas must take into account how it may spread, especially in dry weather with strong winds.

Bagi pendaki, dampaknya terasa langsung. Balai Besar TNBTS membatasi akses wisata ke Penanjakan selama kebakaran, lalu membukanya kembali pada 23 Oktober 2026 pukul 01.00 WIB melalui Surat Pengumuman PG.30/T.8/TU/HMS.01.07/B/10/2026. Kepala Balai Besar TNBTS Rudijanta Tjahja Nugraha meminta pengunjung tidak menyalakan api unggun, tidak membuang puntung rokok atau korek, dan mengutamakan keselamatan bersama. Sebelumnya, kebakaran di Blok Ranu Kembang pada 26 Agustus 2026 membuat jalur pendakian Gunung Semeru ditutup total, sementara sekitar 170 pendaki tertahan di Ranu Kumbolo dan dievakuasi turun oleh tim gabungan.

For climbers, the impact was direct. The TNBTS authority restricted tourist access to Penanjakan during the fire and reopened it on October 23, 2026, at 01.00 through announcement letter PG.30/T.8/TU/HMS.01.07/B/10/2026. TNBTS head Rudijanta Tjahja Nugraha asked visitors not to light campfires, not to throw cigarette butts or matches, and to put shared safety first. Earlier, a fire in Ranu Kembang block on August 26, 2026, closed the Mount Semeru climbing route entirely, while about 170 climbers were stranded at Ranu Kumbolo and escorted down by a joint team.

Enam nama di Bromo bukan satu-satunya. Sepanjang 2026, pemberitaan mencatat pula Akhmad Rizani (54), Ketua TSAK Jekan Raya, Palangka Raya; Ahmadin alias Itam Madin (56), relawan Damkar Huma Singgah Itah, Kalimantan Tengah; Aries Sutio Luthfil Hadi (30), relawan Masyarakat Peduli Api Kotawaringin Barat yang wafat 10 September 2026; dan Nurdin alias Amang Udin, warga Desa Basirih Hilir, Kotawaringin Timur. Dengan enam korban Bromo, daftar petugas dan relawan karhutla yang gugur tahun ini mencapai sepuluh orang.

The six names in Bromo are not the only ones. Through 2026, reports also recorded Akhmad Rizani (54), head of the TSAK Jekan Raya in Palangka Raya; Ahmadin, known as Itam Madin (56), a volunteer with the Huma Singgah Itah fire service in Central Kalimantan; Aries Sutio Luthfil Hadi (30), a volunteer with the Kotawaringin Barat community fire care group who died on September 10, 2026; and Nurdin, known as Amang Udin, from Basirih Hilir village in Kotawaringin Timur. With the six from Bromo, the list of firefighters and volunteers lost this year reaches ten.

Yang perlu diingat, api di kawasan gunung jarang dimulai dari hutan. Ia biasanya datang dari kebiasaan kecil di tepi kawasan, lalu bertemu savana kering dan angin. Karena itu, di jalur mana pun, tiga hal sederhana tetap berlaku: tidak menyalakan api, tidak membuang puntung, dan mematuhi penutupan jalur. Keselamatan bukan soal sampai ke puncak, tetapi soal bisa kembali. Di lereng Bromo, mereka yang menjaga kawasan justru tidak kembali.

One thing is worth remembering: fires in mountain areas rarely start inside the forest. They start with small habits at the edge of the area, then meet dry savanna and wind. So on any trail, three simple rules still apply: no campfires, no cigarette butts, and respect every closure. Safety is not about reaching the summit, but about coming back. On the slopes of Bromo, those who were protecting the area did not come back.

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