Bush fire razes 6000 hectares in Albay, threatens residential areas

MANILA, Philippines - An ongoing bush fire has razed at least 6,000 hectares of forest and grasslands in Rapu-Rapu, Albay, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Monday.

In an update issued this morning, the NDRRMC said the bush fire started around 8 a.m. on Sunday with kaingin as the possible cause of the incident.

The agency said the first fire incident sites were Poblacion, Morocborocan, Sitio Acal, Mananao, Guadalupe and Buenavista, which were occupied by about 5,000 households.

The second fire incident sites were Sitio Minto and San Ramon Batan Island.

The NDRRMC said the bush fire has affected least 2,065 families, a water system, upland crops and coconuts.

In a phone-patch interview on ANC, Albay public safety and emergency management office head Cedric Daep said the fire continues to spread and threatens some residential areas.

"It is still spreading and becoming closer, maybe, less than a kilometer away from the residential zone of Morocborocan," Daep said. -Louis Bacani