20 hectares of mountain fires hit Sagada, water tubes burned

By Gina Dizon

SAGADA MOUNTAIN PROVINCE - Some 20 hectares of pine tree land located in  different sites of this town have been hit in 10 incidents of mountain fires the past two weeks of February. Worst, the fires burned water hoses that lead to one of the barangays here with a number of inns and homestays apart from households at barangay Dagdag.

Fire Protection Officer Jet Gewan of the Bureau of Fire Protection here appealed to the community to protect and not burn the forests considering the damage it does to trees and water that people need including threats to life and destruction of structures located in mountains.

The BFP here composed of only four personnel had to make do with their number trying to put off the fire at sitio Dalalag, Pakad and Danonoy last week.

Some four hectares of bush, young trees, old leaves and ferns were burned here at sitios Pakad, Dalalag and Danonoy the past week. Some 10 water hoses were also burned.

The water hoses lead to clustered sites and distributed to a number of households, inns and homestays at barangay Dagdag.  There are some 200 households in this barangay mostly dependent on water that pass at Danonoy and Pakad.

Danonoy and Pakad were first burned February 10 followed by two more recent fires resulting to lack of water in this part of the town. Due to this, some households bought water from water deliveries. Some households have to control their remaining stored water.

Gewan said the cause of fire is seemingly intentional at Pakad, Danonoy and Dalalag.

BFP personnel with their limited personnel and fire truck tried to put off the fire in sites where the forests are burning.

Gewan hopes the barangay officials shall help in preventing the occurrence of forest fires.    

Assistant Supervisor Forester Christopher Bosaing of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) said five forest rangers are assigned per municipality of Mountain Province.

Five forest rangers per municipality however are not enough with the wideness of mountains in Mountain Province.

For the past two weeks in different dates, fires hit some five hectares of mountains at sitio Langtiw above Sumaguing Cave.  Fire extended to sitio Kanip-aw. Cause of fire is believed to be accidental.

At sitio Gagab-an in Ambasing, some 200 square meters of pine land were also burned due to children playing with fire as some people in the vicinity claimed.

At Antadao barangay, some 300 square meters of pine land was razed to the ground due to unattended kaingin burning, Gewan said. Though another mountain below the high school building was burned.

Gewan said the cause of fire is under investigation.     

Poblacion Patay barangay captain Dennis Lopez said he shall soon call for a barangay meeting to address mountain fires. Lopez’s alnus and coffee trees were also burned at Pakad.

Netizen Samsin Longid from Sagada noted that people in the olden days come out to put off fires and the culprit penalized with a pig.

Netizen Eric Urban noted that people in olden days use cogon houses. Must have something to do with this so they immediately go out to put off forest fires, he said.  Otherwise, ownership and management is another.

Sagada resident Mary Umaming noted that people don’t come out to put off mountain fires now because of the perception that they down own the forests. Mountains especially in the central part of town are privatized.

                Whatever perception people have in not going out to put off forest fires still puts them at a disadvantage because water does not reach their homes with water hoses burned and water lessened due to faster evaporation during summer heat. This aside from trees and other plants burned.

Worse, houses are threatened of being hit with fire as structures are now being built in mountains due to congestion in residential areas.

Forest fires usually come in raging infernos after years when debris has accumulated.  That time is now when forest fires were not that prevalent in previous years, Bosaing said.