Fiery vortex unleashes in the midst of Mount Bromo’s Savanna fire zone

INDONESIA: The ongoing forest and land fires in the Savanna, commonly referred to as Teletubbies Hill on Mount Bromo, have yet to be fully extinguished.

Recently, a remarkable natural phenomenon occurred in this location: flames formed a ‘fire tornado’ due to swirling winds.

A video capturing this mesmerizing fire whirl on Mount Bromo has rapidly circulated on various social media platforms. The footage was posted by the Tiktok account “jalankebromo” on Sunday (10 Sep).

@jalankebromo

Kabar terbaru Bromo dari lokasi kebakaran, muncul puting beliung. Upaya pemadaman terbaik terus berlanjut #kabarterbarubromo #wisatabromo #bromotenggersemerujawatimur

♬ Karna Su Sayang Slowed Version – candy

In the video, you can witness a towering fire whirl gracefully tracing the path of the wind’s movements.

Hendra, the Public Relations representative of the Tengger Bromo Semeru National Park Center (BBTNBTS), reported that this phenomenon took place on Sunday (10 Sep).

He explained, “Indeed, on that day, a strong wind accompanied the fire in the savanna area. Occurring during a hot and arid day in the dry season, it appeared as if a vortex was formed.”

Wind vortices are actually a relatively common sight in the Mount Bromo region. In this instance, the occurrence coincided with the ongoing fire incident.

“Under typical conditions, this phenomenon is a natural event that occasionally happens in the sand sea area. Coincidentally, the strong winds that day were centred around the fire hotspot,” Hendra added.

Regrettably, the wind vortex carried the fire and impacted the surrounding vegetation for approximately three to five minutes.

The Juanda Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) responded to this event

According to BMKG Juanda’s official statement on Instagram dated 11 September, this phenomenon is known as a “dust devil.”

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A post shared by BMKG Juanda (@infobmkgjuanda)

A dust devil represents a small yet powerful air eddy that forms under conditions of dry, scorching heat and ground-level instability.

It rapidly ascends through the cooler air layers above, creating a vortex. Additionally, the vortex carries dust, debris, or other particles in its vicinity.

The cycle begins with the Sun heating the ground surface, causing hot air to rise, forming a low-pressure area. Cooler air rushes in to equalize the pressure, causing the vortex to rise higher and increase in speed.

Eventually, the vortex intensifies, collecting sand and dust to become a dust devil.

BMKG Juanda confirmed that this phenomenon will eventually dissipate. They noted that dust devils typically manifest during sunny, dry, and hot afternoons and can last for several seconds or minutes.

Furthermore, they are only visible when there are particulate materials like sand and dust in the vicinity.

Fire ignited by flares used during pre-wedding photoshoot

The fires in the Watangan Valley Savanna or Teletubbies Hill on Mount Bromo are believed to have been ignited by visitors using flares during a pre-wedding photo session on Wednesday (6 Sep).

Subsequently, Mount Bromo tourism and its surrounding areas were temporarily closed.

Currently, authorities are actively working on extinguishing the fires. According to data from the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) as of Friday (8 Sep), the affected area spanned 274.71 hectares.