LUCENA CITY — A forest fire broke out in Dolores town in Quezon province, threatening Mount Banahaw, an official of the Bureau of Fire Protection reported. Senior Fire Officer 1 Susana Pedernal, Dolores fire station chief, said the fire was reported around 1:15 p.m. in Barangay Pinagdanlayan near the boundary of Dolores and Candelaria town. “Our firefighters and volunteers were still in the Pinagdalayan area to contain the fire to prevent it from reaching Mount Banahaw,” Pedernal said in a phone interview. “Our task is to prevent the fire from reaching Banahaw forest ground,” she said in a separate phone interview. In April 2016, an 18-hour fire destroyed more than 50 hectares of cogon land atop Mount Masalukot in Candelaria town near the present fire site.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer March 06, 2018 11:15 UTC