TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan, Philippines – Another forest fire is raging in the Cordillera mountains since Wednesday afternoon and has already destroyed at least 20 hectares of pine trees in Sitio Nalseb, Ambassador, Tublay, Benguet.

Fire Officer 1 Richard Watas of the Tublay Bureau of Fire Protection said two of their firetrucks and one from the La Trinidad fire station were joined by villagers who trekked hours to the site of the blaze and tried to suppress the conflagration manually.

Watas said the fire started around 2:30 p.m.

Because of the spreading fire, the Benguet Electric Cooperative Inc. has announced a power interruption that started around 8:40 p.m. of the same day.

Watas said they are yet to determine the cause of the fire.

Last March, a forest fire that lasted an hour also struck in Barangay Ambassador in Sitio Sto. Niño.

Only last Tuesday, a fire that ended after nine days destroyed at least 150 hectares of trees in Kabayan, Benguet.

No casualties were reported in all of the fire incidents.

Forest fires are sometimes triggered by lightning and some start from combustion of dried fallen leaves during the dry season.

Fires could have been started by people who throw lighted cigarettes on dried grass or leaves and those who make campfires.

Last March, a farmer died of suffocation from the smoke of a forest fire originating from a kaingin (slash and burn) activity in Mt. Am-o, Tadian, Mountain Province.