Mount Pulag treks suspended after Saturday fire

Mount Pulag in Northern Luzon (Image from Google Maps)

BAGUIO CITY — Hiking and trekking activities at Mount Pulag were suspended following a forest fire that broke out there on Saturday (Jan. 20), according to park management.

The fire was set off when a camper’s butane stove exploded and had been put out by responding firemen, said Ivy Carasi of the Office of Civil Defense in the Cordillera.

OCD received the alert at 6:30 p.m. but had not yet determined when it actually started.

Carasi said no one was hurt and no hikers were left stranded at the mountain, when fire consumed parts of the grasslands near the camp sites.

Visitors have been advised to stay at the Ranger Station. Park officials said those who were booked for the next few days will be allowed to go to the Four Lakes, a popular destination in Kabayan town in Benguet province.

Pulag is the highest mountain in Luzon, straddling the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao and Nueva Vizcaya.

It also has one of the places in the country with the richest biodiversity.