Bushfire hits Albay town

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines   – The provincial government of Albay has sent a team of firefighters, disaster personnel and environmentalists to control a bushfire that has been raging since Sunday in Rapu-Rapu town.

The fire forced more than 2,000 families from Rapu-Rapu’s five villages to evacuate.

Among those dispatched by Albay Gov. Joey Salceda were members of Team Albay, the Albay Provincial Security and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) and personnel from the Environment and Natural Resources Office.

Emergency rescue teams from the Air Force’s Tactical Operations Group, the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources also rushed to the area.

“We are going to declare a state of calamity in Rapu-Rapu to protect the affected families,” said Salceda, co-chairman of the Green Climate Fund.

The composite team has been deployed to secure families from the villages of Poblacion, Morocborocan, Mananao, Guadalupe and Buenavista located in the opposite side of a former mining site in Barangay Malobago.

The Air Force deployed a helicopter with a special water container to douse the blaze.

 “We are conducting a probe if the bushfire was triggered by slash-and-burn farming,” said Salceda who asked the Air Force to send more helicopters equipped with firefighting equipment.

The APSEMO has asked Rapu-Rapu officials to activate its municipal disaster risk reduction and management council  to monitor and evacuate threatened areas. – With Francis Elevado, Alexis Romero