Indonesia closes all access to Mount Bromo as wildfire expands

JAKARTA, Aug 9 (Reuters) - ‌Indonesia has ​closed ​Mount Bromo national park in East Java for all tourist activities, its operator ‌said late on Saturday, as a wildfire, ⁠burning since Monday, expanded in its caldera area.

• The ‌closure took effect from ‌Saturday evening, for an undetermined duration, the park operator said on its official Instagram page.

• ​The raging fire has burned an area of around 176 hectares (434.91 acres) at Mount ⁠Bromo, an active volcano that is a popular tourist destination known ​for its "sand sea" caldera. The wildfire has expanded from around 60 hectares on ​Thursday.

• "This closure is a crucial ‌step to maintain safety of visitors, staff and people in the surrounding ⁠areas," it said, adding that people who have bought entrance tickets will be able to reschedule visits ⁠or seek a refund.

• East Java's disaster mitigation agency ​said authorities are deploying water bombing helicopters and water spraying drones to bolster efforts to extinguish the fire.

• ‌Footage uploaded by the park's operator on social media showed fire spreading across ‌the slopes of the mountain overnight.

• Authorities ⁠have not declared what ‌caused the fire, ​and there have been no casualties reported.

(Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Sonali ‌Paul)

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