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.