Fires hit Benguet forests; Mt. Pulag closed to tourists

KABAYAN, Benguet – Forests in different Benguet towns were razed last week.

Another fire broke out in a forest here and spread to Mt. Pulag National Park Monday morning forcing authorities to close the mountain to tourism activities starting Feb. 24.

The blaze occurred almost a week after a nine-day fire that razed some 150 hectares of pine trees in the same area was declared out on Tuesday.

Firefighters had difficulty getting near the blaze in Sitio Tinuping, Barangay Eddet as the trail was steep and rocks were rolling down the burning mountain, according to Capt. Peter Camsol Jr., Kabayan town police chief.

Camsol said the fire went downward.

“All we could do is watch the fire from a distance because the area is inaccessible to fire trucks and there are no other means to get near the site,” Fire Officer 2 Billyduck Palasi of the Kabayan Bureau of Fire Protection told journalists.

Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the blaze.

The first fire originated in Sitio Bulok, Barangay Adaoay on Feb. 11.

It spread across the mountain and reached the villages of Anchokey and Kabayan near Mt. Pulag where it was contained.

By the time the nine-day fire was declared out, another was raging on its third day in the forest of Barangay Ambassador in Tublay town.

Arnold Battung of the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources in Cagayan Valley explained why the forests in Benguet are prone to wildfires despite the cold climate.

Battung said the coniferous forests in the province are teeming with pine trees, which he said have flammable sap.

He said the probability of a fire is higher once a lit cigarette is thrown or left in the area.

Meanwhile, the Mt Pulag Management Board said the decision to close the highest mountain in Luzon was made by Kabayan Mayor Faustino Aquisan upon the feedback of the Mt Pulag Guides Association.

Last Feb. 22, the management already asked those trekking the Akiki trail to "desist from entering the southern ingress."

A forest fire was triggered at Sitios Abucot and Tinuping in Barangay Eddet in Kabayan on Feb. 23.

According to Camsol Jr, boulders and other debris were falling from the burning mountain as the fire's direction was downward.

Also last February 11, a forest fire that started in Barangay Adaoay, also in Kabayan, raged on for four days, destroying 150 hectares of forestland in its wake.

Last Feb. 16, the management also refrained the taking of selfies at Mt Pulag.

"Selfies have caused fatal accidents globally in many mountains in some parts of the world. In connection with this, please remind every now and then about this restriction in any mountain," the bulletin said.

The eight-day forest fire at Mount Pulag razed 191.54 hectares planted with trees, killing a total of 160,547 trees and saplings under the Expanded National Greening Program (NGP) of the DENR.

Office of Civil Defense- Cordillera Administrative Region and Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council chairman Albert Mogol on Tuesday said the fire started Feb. 11 but contained on Feb. 18.

"The fire started in Sitio Bulok of Barangay Adaoay of said town which spread to Barangay Anchokey in the same town," Mogol said.

Mogol said the DENR reported that the burned area has a vegetative cover which is mostly “grassland and pine forest located on mountainous terrain, mostly steep to very steep slopes coupled with high exposure, making it extremely fire hazard.”

The report said the fire on the ENGP caused the destruction which is estimated at P1,564,230, while also causing destruction to some 643.69 hectares of forest cover valued at P106,225 or a total of P1,670,455.

Initial reports of Kabayan firemen said the blaze started in Sitios Sacob and Abat of Barangay Adaoay “where there are grazing cows and gardens.”

The OCD, in a report, said “these community livelihood activities are among the suspected causes of forest fires in the Province of Benguet.”

The report also said "the forest fire was aggravated by the biophysical conditions of the area (terrains, heat exposure, wind, etc.), forest fire management of concerned agencies, and the apparent indifference of the community people towards the prevention of forest fires.”

Follow-up investigation of Adaoay barangay captain Roy Tomillas “concluded that there was no definite perpetrator or perpetrators named.”

The village chief's report also said the investigations lead nowhere due to the “lack of willing witness.”

Due to the fire, the Mount Pulag park management has closed the southern ingress of the Akiki Trail for safety.

The Akiki Trail is one of the paths leading to the peak of the summit.

In January, the CDRRMC has reactivated its Inter-Agency Task Group for the Reduction of Fire Incidents and Effects of El Nino Phenomenon.

Co-chaired by the DENR and BFP for Cordillera, the task group tries to mitigate and prevent and respond to forest fires.

Cordillera RDRRMC and OCD Cordillera director Albert Mogol has reiterated the importance of partnership and called on the involvement of the community in preventing and fighting forest fires. -- With reports from Pigeon Lobien, PNA, Rappler