Forest fire hits portions of TV soap’s Benguet location

BAGUIO CITY–Fire struck portions of the Mount Santo Tomas watershed, a forested area that was celebrated recently because of a soap opera that brought tourists to its location shoot in the mountain.

Firefighters and government foresters fought to contain the blaze within Sitio Bigis, Kabuyao village in Benguet’s Tuba town since 10 p.m. on Thursday (Mar. 19), according to Tuba fire investigator Randy Orchagon.

Orchagon said the fire consumed 3 hectares of forest and grasslands in an area below two giant satellite dishes, for which the visible peak of Mt. Santo Tomas is known.

But the blaze was far away from mountain settlements in the area’s Baguio and Tuba territories.

At 11 a.m. on Friday (Mar. 20), a report from the local fire department indicated that the fire had been quelled, although the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said the report may have been premature.

Paquito Moreno, DENR Cordillera director, said the agency has deployed teams to help fight the blaze, and to determine how it started.

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