KIDAPAWAN CITY – An estimated PHP5-million worth of oil palm trees were destroyed when a fire hit an oil palm plantation in Arakan, North Cotabato on Thursday afternoon, February 28.
Senior Fire Officer Ronald Valle, spokesperson of the Bureau of Fire Protection in Arakan, said they received a call stating that a forest fire was developing in said area at around 4:45 in the afternoon.
The plantation located in the hinterlands of barangay Gambodes, the tri-boundaries of Arakan, North Cotabato, Quezon, Bukidnon and Marilog District, Davao City. It is ten kilometers away from the municipal center.
Initial investigation showed, a bushfire took place near the plantation but it eventually spread due to strong winds.
“Responding firefighters put off the blaze some two hours later,” Valle said Friday.-Editha Z. Caduaya/NewsLine.ph
