Indonesia: Fire near Mount Bromo extinguished after 550 hectares burnt

A fire in Indonesia's Mount Bromo National Park in East Java that burnt 550 hectares (1,360 ​acres) has been extinguished, an official said on ‌Monday, but there are new hotspots near the caldera. The fire, which started on August 3, had affected 550 ​hectares as of Sunday and had been ​fully extinguished, Gatot Soebroto, head of the local ⁠disaster mitigation agency, told a news agency. Gatot said authorities had found ​new fires in areas around the caldera covering some ​20 hectares. Mount Bromo is an active volcano, and is a popular tourist destination and best known for its "sand sea" caldera. ​The national park covers over 50,000 hectares.
"A person lit a ​fire, then put it out - but the fire ​was ⁠not fully extinguished," Gatot said, adding this conclusion was reached because the first flame was found along a route ⁠used ​by visitors. No injuries or evacuations have been reported. Response efforts include weather modification operations and ground-based firefighting to control hotspots and prevent the fires from spreading to other areas. 
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Djamari Chaniago said cloud-seeding operations were unlikely to be possible through 18th of August because there were no suitable rain-bearing clouds. Firefighters are instead relying on water bombing and ground crews. The government reaffirms its commitment to preserving the environment, protecting the public, and strengthening preparedness to face the threat of forest and land fires.