22nd August 2022 – Tourism destination spot Pulau Gili Lawa is temporarily closed due to a fire in the savanna. Lukita Awang, the head of the Komodo National Park Office, said that the fire was first discovered by Resort Gili Lawa’s officers. They saw a puff of smoke from the south of the Gili Lawa Peak trekking route.
3 Resort Gili Lawa Officers along with other three officers from the Resort Loh Wenci-Sape immediately went to the point of fire in an effort to extinguish the fire. They also hasten to ask for additional ranger personnel from the Komodo National Park Office in Labuan Bajo.
The ranger team arrived at the point of fire at 5 PM WITA with additional 15 people to extinguish the fire in the hilly areas. Then, there’s additional support from the Fire Care Community Group (MPA) Komodo Village of 20 personnel that helps extinguish the fire with several pieces of equipment.
At 9:10 PM WITA, the fire is successfully extinguished. However, the team decided to stay the night in the location to make sure that the fire is fully handled and extinguished.
The Komodo National Park Office noted that the burnt savanna on Pulau Gili Lawa, Komodo National Park area, West Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) covered an area of 45 hectares.
The team is still investigating the cause of the fire in the hilly area of the Gili Lawa trekking route.
Referencing the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) El Tari Kupang Meteorological Station regarding the weather prediction of the NTT area from 19th to 21 August 2022, it’s said that the area can potentially experience strong winds.
According to Awang, paying attention to the strong wind that is dry during the dry season can trigger forest and land fires in a number of areas.
Due to the savanna fire, Resort Gili Lawa will be temporarily closed in order to accelerate the ecosystem recovery in the area. It will be closed until the savanna at Pulau Gili Lawa is healed.
