Indonesia reopens Mount Rinjani's hiking route after forest fire

JAKARTA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia reopened the Senaru hiking route to Mount Rinjani in West Nusa Tenggara after a forest fire that had closed the route was declared extinguished, the Mount Rinjani National Park Agency has said.

Volcanic ash billows from the crater of Mount Rinjani which is photographed from East Lombok, Indonesia, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. (File photo: AP)

Astekita Ardiarsito, the park official, said the route reopened on Saturday after firefighting operations and a joint safety evaluation and assessment with several stakeholders.

"The reopening followed confirmation that the fire had been extinguished and checks of hiking facilities and infrastructure, while hikers can register online," Astekita said.

With the reopening of Senaru, five hiking routes on Mount Rinjani are operating again, he said.

The fire at Setampol Hill in the Torean resort area, which broke out on Sept. 22, had affected about 1,098 hectares of the area as of Sept. 29, while drone monitoring and patrols continue to prevent the fire from reigniting.