Mt. Apo fire may be out by today – DENR
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is hoping to put out the fire that has already engulfed about 350 hectares of forests and grasslands at Mt. Apo by today, Thursday.
“If weather permits, fire could be out today (March 30) or tomorrow (March 31),” DENR Secretary Ramon Paje said in an interview, citing a report from the Philippine Air Force (PAF).
A Super Huey chopper from the PAF was deployed in the area Tuesday morning to conduct water bucket operations to put out the fire.
Paje said about 350 hectares of forests and grasslands, though just a small portion of the mountain, have already been eaten up by
the fire. “About 20 to 30 hectares of the affected area were dipterocarp forest, which is part of the reforestation area of the Energy Development Corporation, while the rest are grasslands,” he said.
“We are hoping that we can stop the fire immediately because we do not want the fire to reach the forested area where the century-old trees are located. If fire reaches this area, it will be more difficult to stop the fire,” he added.
“Each of the seven composite teams now up in Mt. Apo has DENR personnel providing technical assistance, particularly in the use of geographical position system or GPS and control maps, including the establishment of fire lines to prevent the fire from further spreading,” he explained.
A fire line is a gap in vegetation or other combustible materials that will act as barrier to slow down the fire from spreading.
While the fire is expected to be put out today, its impact on the Mt. Apo Natural Park (MANP) might have already taken its toll on the flora and fauna in the area, Edward Ragasa, DENR-11 Parks Operations Superintendent, said in an interview with the Manila Bulletin Tuesday evening.
Most of the affected areas are grasslands while the forested areas particularly those classified as open and close canopy areas were not severely affected by fire.
Forested areas, around 20 hectares near Lake Venado were only affected, Ragasa said, adding that the firefighting operations will continue until the fire is completely contained and quelled.
“Our focus now will be on prevention and to establish more fire lines,” he pointed out.
Home to endemic species MANP is the home to around 800 vascular and non-vascular plant species and considered endemic in the area; an estimated 272 species of birds of which 40 percent or 111 are considered endemic to Mt. Apo. Two of these species are now listed as critical, including the Philippine Eagle (Pthecophaga jefferyi) and Abukay (Cacatua heamatopygia) while another 10 are already considered endangered species, among them are the Mindanao scoops owl (Otus mirus); the lesser eagle owl (Bobu philippensis); Mindanao lorikeet (Tricoglosus johnstoniae); the whritted hornbill (Aceros leucocephalus).
Situated at 3,143.6 meters above sea level MANP is a declared protected area and is being managed by the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) composed of the cities of Davao, Digos, and municipalities of Sta. Cruz and Bansalan all in Davao del Sur and the City of Kidapawan and the towns of Makilala and Magpet in North Cotabato.
Paje said initial reports point to human factor as the cause of the forest fire, which started at the Campsite 3. Mt. Apo is famous to campers and trekkers, especially during summer. “After the assessment and we have determined the cause of the fire, we will be issuing a directive similar to the policy adopted at Mt. Banahaw where a moratorium on human activities in certain areas has been extended until February 2019,” he pointed out. (With a report from Leslie Ann G. Aquino)