Fires in RP forests

Fires in RP forests

DIGOS, Philippines (DPA): Forest fires in southern Philippines engulfed at least 100 hectares of grasslands surrounding the country's highest mountain, government officials said yesterday.

As in most parts of the country hit by raging forest fires, the fires in Davao del Sur province were caused by slash-and-burn farmers in areas surrounding Mount Apo, the Philippines' highest mountain and a popular tourist attraction, said forest ranger Demosthenes Amaga.

Last week, a farmer was confirmed to have died of suffocation from earlier blazes that razed at least 60 hectares of grasslands in Bansalan town.

The government closed down the 3,125-metre Mount Apo to trekkers as a safety precaution against the spread of fires to the mountain, although mountaineers are not blamed for the incidents. The dry spell brought about by the El Nino weather phenomenon has fanned raging forest fires all over tropical Philippines, the largest hit being Palawan province which is home to thousands of hectares of virgin forests.