A total of 35 hectares of forest land were affected by a grassfire near Kanlaon Volcano on Negros Island on Thursday night, March 14.

In a radio interview yesterday, La Castellana town Mayor Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan said personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection in Negros Occidental, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Mt. Kanlaon National Park had some difficulties in extinguishing the fire due to strong winds.

Mangilimutan said the blaze started in the town’s Barangay Biak-na-Bato.

Firefighters from the cities of San Carlos, Canlaon, La Carlota, and Bago, as well as Murcia town also helped put out the blaze.

She said rain showers helped prevent the spread of the fire.

Mangilimutan said there were no houses within Kanlaon Volcano’s four-kilometer danger zone that were affected by the blaze.

Kanlaon Volcano borders Negros Occidental’s La Castellana and Negros Oriental’s Canlaon City.

An investigation is ongoing as to what caused the fire.

Meanwhile, Canlaon City Mayor Jose Cardenas said they have already coordinated with Dennis Peñosa, Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park’s protected area superintendent, for efforts to contain the blaze, emphasizing the importance of prompt and coordinated action in addressing emergencies./WDJ