Benguet highway closed due to forest fire

BAGUIO CITY – Halsema Highway or the Baguio-Bontoc road in Atok, Benguet was closed to traffic yesterday due to a forest fire.

“The road is temporarily not passable due to impending threats the fire can cause,” the Atok Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said in an advisory.

Around 15 kilometers of the highway in Barangay Paoay, the main artery from Mountain Province and Benguet to this city, were rendered impassable.

Members of the Bureau of Fire Protection in Atok and neighboring towns as well as volunteers and villagers helped put out the fire. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. Motorists were allowed to pass before 2 p.m. as firefighters managed to prevent the fire from spreading.

On March 6, a forest fire also hit Barangay Paoay, where a few houses were damaged.

Forest fires hit other parts of the barangay early this month.

The Philippine Air Force is conducting cloud seeding operations in Benguet to contain forest fires.

Early this week, an LC-210 aircraft of the 900th Air Force Weather Group dispersed 1,200 kilos of salt over the province to complement helicopter-bucket operations being carried out by the 505th Search and Rescue Group.

Meanwhile, firefighters have yet to extinguish as of yesterday a fire that has razed about 35 hectares of grassland at the foot of Mt. Kanlaon at the border of La Castellana, Negros Occidental and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental.

La Castellana Mayor Rhumyla Nicor Mangilimutan said firefighters, volunteers and workers at the Mt. Kanlaon National Park are having a hard time putting out the fire because of strong winds. The fire started on Thursday night. A report from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said vehicles, equipment and personnel were deployed in the area as requested by the La Castellana municipal government.

Canlaon Mayor Jose Cardenas said he coordinated with officials of the Mt. Kanlaon National Park to coordinate efforts to contain the blaze.

“The collaborative efforts of all involved parties aim to swiftly bring the situation under control and minimize the impact on the surrounding area,” he said in a statement.