Residents Panic as Empty Land in Mojopanggung Banyuwangi Catches Fire, Nearly Reaching Residential Area

The afternoon atmosphere on Caruk Street, Cungking area, Mojopanggung Village, Giri District, suddenly turned tense. Flames erupted fiercely from the vacant land and nearly spread to residents’ homes on Wednesday.

Three fire trucks were deployed to the location. Personnel assisted by local residents struggled to extinguish the fire that kept growing due to strong winds and dry land conditions.

According to witness accounts, the fire started from small smoke that appeared in the middle of the vacant land. Shortly after, the fire grew larger and spread rapidly.

“It was just small smoke at first, but suddenly the fire grew larger and almost reached the houses nearby,” said one panicked resident watching the flames approach closer.

Meanwhile, another Cungking resident claimed to have seen a scavenger burning waste at the location before the fire occurred.

“That seems to be where the fire started. The scavenger was burning waste and probably just left it unattended,” they said.

Panicked residents attempted to extinguish the fire using whatever equipment they had available, while contacting authorities who then reported the incident to the Banyuwangi Fire Department Call Center.

Shortly after, the firefighting team led by the Field Coordinator arrived at the location. They immediately conducted containment measures to prevent the fire from spreading to residents’ homes. After nearly one hour of effort, the fire was finally brought under control.

“Thankfully there were no casualties. However, we urge the public not to carelessly burn waste, especially during the dry season like now,” stated the Field Coordinator.

This fire serves as an important reminder for residents to be more cautious about activities that could potentially cause fires, especially in densely populated areas. A single small spark can turn into a major disaster if ignored.