BY: VANESSA BUGTONG
A forest fire scorched nearly three hectares of land in Sitio Pula, Barangay Poblacion, Tuba, Benguet on Tuesday, April 22.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Gian Valbuena, a 26-year-old café owner in the area, shared that the fire broke out around 3:00 PM, just 500 meters from their establishment. “It was strong. You could hear the crackling and see the thick smoke from across the mountain,” he said.
Valbuena immediately alerted the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) upon seeing the flames grow larger and closer. The fire consumed not just trees and grass but also damaged some vegetable crops owned by residents.
According to SFO3 Orvil Bumacas, Chief of the Intelligence and Investigation Unit of the Tuba Fire Station, responders had to reach the site on foot due to inaccessible terrain. “Our firefighters couldn’t get in using fire trucks, so they had to walk and create fire breaks manually,” he explained.
Reporter Vanessa Bugtong described the scene hours after the fire broke out, showing a wide area of scorched land with lingering smoke that could potentially reignite the flames.
The BFP declared the fire under control at 6:27 AM on April 23 and completely extinguished by around 9:00 AM.
Fortunately, no houses were affected.
Authorities continue to monitor the area for possible flare-ups and are still determining the source of the fire.
This is the first forest fire recorded in Tuba for the first quarter of the year.
