A 16-hour grassfire burned 200 hectares of land across Alicia town including parts of the Alicia Panoramic Park, one of the province’s new tourism draws, on Sunday afternoon.

According to FO1 John Marvin Mangubat of the Alicia Fire Station, the fire was believed to have started at 2 p.m. on Sunday and was completely extinguished at 6 a.m. on Monday.

“Nagsugod ang kayo mga 2 p.m. didto sa boundary sa Cayacay [Alicia] ug Abaca [Mabini] hantod mi abot sa Panoramic sa Cambaol,” said Mangubat.

No one was injured during the incident while there was also no reported damage to any structure in the area.

“So far, wala may apektado na mga balay or bisag unsang structure. Grassfire ra gyud ni siya, wala ray naapil na kabalayan,” Mangubat said.,

According to Mangubat, the fire also engulfed one hectare of a plantation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The Bureau of Fire Protection and DENR have started to conduct separate investigations to determine the extent of damage caused by the fire.

Authorities did not discount the possibility that the fire may have been ignited due to the persistent high temperatures.

However, this remained unconfirmed as authorities have yet to pinpoint the exact cause of the fire.

“Ang gi-ingon sa taga DENR naay nakita kuno na open flame na naay mga plastic nisiga tungod sa kainit pero padayon pa atong pag investigation,” said Mangubat. (ad)