Mt. Pulag’s Akiki trail closed after forest fire

BAGUIO CITY — The Akiki trail, one of the major routes to Mt. Pulag, has been closed to trekkers after a forest fire razed parts of Poblacion village and Eddet village in Kabayan town, Benguet, authorities said on Wednesday.

The blaze encroached part of the trail.

The closure was due to a “rehabilitation for the safety of trekkers,” the park management announced in a Facebook post.

Responders were able to extinguish the blaze but strong winds ignited some embers that kept the fire going in some portions of the area, Emerita Albas, Park Manager of Mt. Pulag National Park, told the Inquirer.

Authorities have yet to issue an official statement regarding the incident or the cause of the fire.

In January last year, the trail was closed for at least six months of rehabilitation after a fire gutted 5.9 hectares of grassland.

The fire then was caused by a damaged butane stove that a group of trekkers hurled into the grasslands at the Akiki-Tawangan area, known as the Saddle Camp. Valerie Damian/lzb