URDANETA CITY, Pangasinan: An official of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) here confirmed on Thursday, February 22, that fire continued to raze a large area in the Caraballo mountains.

Cenro conservation and development section chief Israel Espinosa said that the fire was first spotted on February 20 in a mountain north of Natividad town's pilgrimage site which features a 12.19-meter statue of Christ the Redeemer, called "Ayat ni Apo Jesus" (God's Love), and the town's Sky Plaza park.

"The fire burned an open area," said Espinosa in a telephone interview.

He did not give additional details.

Senior Fire Officer 1 Roel Balagbagan of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Natividad town, meanwhile, said there were no forest fires reported within the town's area of responsibility.

However, a resident who lives in Calapugan, a village located south of the pilgrimage site, said the fire may have started at noon on Tuesday when he noticed smoke rising from the mountains at that time.

Espinosa said that this is the fourth incident of forest fire in the Caraballo mountains since January this year.

In 2015, a 16-hour forest fire almost gutted the pilgrimage site.

The fire then razed some 100 hectares of the forest planted with fruit-bearing trees, pine, narra and mahogany, among others.

At that time, only 15 rangers guard the 146,000 hectares of woodland in Pangasinan, the Cenro official said.

Espinosa said the same number of forest rangers still guard the woodlands of Pangasinan today.

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