BAGUIO CITY, February 26 ------ Forest fires in different areas of Benguet have caused air quality in the City of Pines to drop to “critical levels” according to Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong. At the sidelines of the Panagbenga Festival street dance competition, the local chief executive said their different sensors observed the drop during the worst of the fires. “We have about 80 mobile sensors in the entire city of Baguio and we have five static sensors. Nakikita namin na umaabot sa critical levels especially sa lugar sa mga barangay near sa sunog like Loakan, Camp 7, Kias area,” he said. “Pero ngayon bumababa na. Mabilis naman ang pagbaba, pero nung height ng sunog sa Tuba talagang pumalo.” hea added.
The local government has issued a reminder to refrain from slash-and-burn farming. “Kung titignan ang mga fire ngayon open flame eh. Ibig sabihin, generated ng tao. So ito nga, iwasan ang pagsusunog ng garbage ng mga dry leaves, branches at kung ano ano pa. Iwas muna.”
Since the start of the year, Baguio City has logged 21 incidents of forest fires, which were quickly suppressed according to the chief executive. “Yung matindi yung sa [Philippine Military Academy] itong nangyari sa John Hay. Sa PMA 20 hectares, sa John Hay mga 4.5 hectares. Ang matindi sa Tuba. As of today, umaabot na sa 65 hectares ang apektado,” Magalong said.
According to latest information from the Bureau of Fire Protection, two fires are still active on Mount Santo Tomas. One firefighter said the area is hard to reach because of its incline and terrain.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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