Fire at Mt. Kanlaon rages for 2 days now

This photo taken in February 2022 shows Mt. Kanlaon, one of the country’s active volcanoes. A fire has been raging for two days at Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park in Barangay Biak na Bato, La Castellana town, Negros Occidental. So far, the blaze that started on March 14, 2024, has gobbled up grassland and trees in about 35 hectares of the mountain. PHOTO FROM RONNIE BALDONADO /CONTRIBUTOR

BACOLOD CITY — A fire that has been raging for two days has gobbled up grassland and trees in about 35 hectares of Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park in Barangay Biak na Bato, La Castellana town, Negros Occidental.

La Castellana Mayor Rhummyla Mangilimutan said the fire started in Barangay Biak na Bato Thursday morning and spread to the adjacent Mananawin and Masulog.

It is mostly forest land that has been hit, she said.

According to Joan Nathaniel Gerangaya, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer, the fire scene was a two-hour climb from the Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park Administration Center in Barangay Calapnagan, making it difficult for firefighters and volunteers to bring water to the area.

They instead created a fire line to prevent the fire from spreading to other areas, he said.

Battling the fire were the Kanlaon Green Brigade volunteers and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Bureau of Fire Protection unit, and Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office personnel, Gerangaya said.

Also in the area were representatives of the Office of the Civil Defense.

A slight drizzle on March 15 was not enough to put out the fire earlier in the day, he said.