A forest fire affected several portions of Mount Arayat over the weekend, based on reports prepared by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).
The first incident was reported on Friday evening, April 25 in Barangays La Paz Turu and San Mateo in Arayat town.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Arayat responded and declared a fire out at 10:35 PM on the same day.
On Saturday evening, another grassfire was reported in the same areas, prompting personnel of BFP Arayat and Philippine Army to conduct an assessment along the La Paz Turu-Arayat Bypass.
The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices (MDRRMO) of Arayat and Magalang were placed under alert.
The Office of Civil Defense Region 3 (OCD-3) also coordinated with the Philippine Air Force (PAF) for the deployment of air assets but aerial firefighting operations could not be conducted at night.
On Sunday morning, teams from the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) and BFP returned to the fire site for assessment.
The MDRRMO Arayat said its personnel remained at the site until yesterday.
A PAF helicopter was deployed on Sunday to conduct water drops sourced from the nearby La Paz Turu River to suppress the fire.
As of this writing, the PDRRMO said it is still establishing the cause of the "grassfire."
Some residents told SunStar Pampanga that more than 100 hectares of land were affected by the fire.