By BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
KALIBO, Aklan — A forest fire scorched some six hectares of public land in the hinterlands of Brgy. Nabaoy, Malay town.
Fire Inspector Joseph Cadag said the fire broke at around 7 a.m. on Thursday.
It took the community fire responders and firefighters from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Boracay three hours to control the blaze.
But it would not have taken long had the area been easier to access.
The affected forest area is about a two-hour walk from the barangay road in Nabaoy, Cadag said.
What made the incident worse was that no fire truck responded immediately.
“Walang fire truck na rumesponde (kaagad) dahil malayo ang fire scene,” Cadag said.
Fire brigades from the Godofredo P. Ramos Airport and the BFP-Ibajay were “the nearest fire brigades responding to fire calls, since mainland Malay has no fire trucks,” he said.
Nabaoy, one of the 14 barangays in mainland Malay, is under the jurisdiction of BFP-Boracay.
The incident is still under investigation. Dried leaves may have burned in the early morning and thus sparked the fire, said Cadag.
In April, a fire also wiped out four hectares of forestland about 500 meters from the Nabaoy barangay road.
It took firefighters and first responders four hours to control the blaze.
Cadag again reminded the community to be vigilant against forest and grass fires, especially in the mountainous areas of Malay. (Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
