In this photo taken late Wednesday, April 17, a grassfire is shown to be spreading to the Arayat side of Mt. Arayat from Magalang side in Pampanga where it reportedly started. (Photo courtesy of Sinukuan Gazette of the Pampanga State Agricultural University)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Kaingin (slash-and-burn farming) is suspected to have caused the 13-hour grassfire on Wednesday that torched around 14 hectares of the upper middle slopes of Mt. Arayat, a protected landscape in Pampanga, the provincial fire marshal said.
“Sad to say, kaingin is the probable cause,” Senior Supt. Romeo Pepito, Bureau of Fire Protection provincial chief, told the Inquirer on Thursday.
Citing the reports of its municipal counterparts and environmental offices, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) reported that the fire started at 4 p.m. on Wednesday in Barangay San Vicente in Magalang town and spread to Barangay Baliti in nearby Arayat town.
The BFP in Arayat declared the fire out at 5 a.m. on Thursday, PDRRMO said.
According to Pepito, no houses were gutted during the incident. The blaze burned mostly wild grass and a still unspecified number of trees.
This was the second fire that struck Mt. Arayat since April 2 when 12 hectares were burned on the Magalang side.
Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales worked to declare Mt. Arayat a protected landscape under the National Integrated Protected Areas System through the Republic Act. No. 11684, which former President Duterte signed into law in April 2022.