30 fires raze Benguet forests; gov calls for public vigilance
>> Wednesday, April 1, 2015
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The Bureau of Fire
Department in this vegetable producing province revealed it recorded 30
forest fires January to February this year.
A total of 93 forest fires were noted last
year.
Following this, an alarmed Gov. Nestor B. Fongwan
urged the public to be vigilant and responsible in protecting forests
especially from fire.
BFP records showed number one cause of such
fires was from throwing of lighted cigarette butts followed by children playing
with matenvirches or lighters.
Fongwan urged smokers to discharge their
cigarettes properly especially this time of the year when the
mountain is dry and easily catches fire. Dry leaves and twigs that accumulate
in forests serve to fuel fire, he said.
The governor instructed the mayors of
the 13 municipalities in the province to mobilize residents in
helping contain fire that might raze forests this summer as there are just few
forest rangers.
Benguet is part of the Cordillera mountain
ranges which serve as the watershed for the lowland areas of Ilocos and Cagayan
regions, and it is our responsibility to take care of our forests,
Fongwan said.
In preserving the environment,
the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources together with government
agencies and private organizations planted more than 2 million various
tree seedlings last year under the National Greening Program.
-- Strawberry
de Leon and Liza Enriquez
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