Kanlaon calms down; rains put out grass fire

HELPING HAND Personnel from the Victorias City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office help clean the ash-covered roads in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, following the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon on Tuesday. —OFFICE OF CIVIL DEFENSE

BACOLOD CITY—As Mt. Kanlaon calmed down a day after its latest explosive eruption on Tuesday, the grass fire that broke out on the crater’s northern side was doused on Wednesday due to rains in the area.

But in communities around the volcano on Negros Island, local governments continued working to clear roads and residential areas of ash ejected by Kanlaon.

Mari-Andylene Quintia, resident volcanologist of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) in La Carlota City, said the rains on Tuesday night might have helped put out the blaze in the volcano’s danger zone which firefighters could not reach.

The fire was ignited by “superheated ballistic projectiles,” some likened to the size of a small house, which were thrown out of the crater during Kanlaon’s eruption at 5:51 a.m. Tuesday that lasted for close to an hour.

Quintia said these were also believed to have caused pockets of fires seen on the volcano’s slopes.

Mt. Kanlaon, she said, calmed down on Wednesday after “clearing its throat.”

“No ash emissions or eruptions were recorded as of 3 p.m. on Wednesday. The volcano may have cleared its vents during Tuesday’s eruption,” she said.

In the spirit of unity and “bayanihan” (cooperation), work teams from the city governments of Silay and Victorias came to the aid of La Carlota, the area most affected by ashfall following Kanlaon’s eruption.

According to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), the two cities joined forces to flush and clear La Carlota’s roads of thick ash to improve driving conditions.

“This act of solidarity stands as a testament to the strength of community in times of crisis,” the OCD said.

Tuesday’s blast was Kanlaon’s third explosive eruption in the last 10 months.

The latest eruption, however, did not require further evacuation of communities.

At least 2,612 families, or 8,335 people, have been staying in different evacuation centers in Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental since the volcano’s eruption last year. Kanlaon, which erupted on June 3 and Dec. 9 last year, remains under alert level 3 (high level of volcanic unrest).

La Carlota Mayor Rex Jalando-on announced the resumption of classes in the city effective on April 10, except for schools located in the villages of Ara-al, San Miguel, La Granja, Yubo, Haguimit and Nagasi where ash clearing operations were ongoing.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) on Wednesday announced the suspension of all tourism activities near Mt. Kanlaon due to the recent eruption.

According to the DOT, activities such as trekking and visiting tourist attractions in La Carlota City, Bago City, La Castellana and other surrounding areas in Negros Occidental have been suspended.

Tourism impact

“All tourist accommodations and infrastructure have been assessed as structurally sound, and local tourism offices continue to monitor the situation closely,” the DOT said in a statement.

“We advise tourists to postpone any travel plans to these locations and to adhere to the safety measures established by local authorities,” it added.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also issued a call for volunteers for repacking of relief goods for Negrenses affected by the latest explosion.

DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said extra hands were needed at the agency’s main disaster response hub in Pasay City.

“There was a slight increase on the recorded number of affected families, but we can manage as we have more than 2.6 million boxes of [family food packs], as well as nonfood items prepositioned in our warehouses nationwide which we can immediately tap to augment affected [local governments’] resources,” Dumlao said in a statement. —WITH REPORTS FROM KATHLEEN DE VILLA AND JACOB LAZARO