GenSan logs 86 grass fires; latest incident disrupts airport operation

General Santos City has logged at least 86 incidents of grass fire from January to March 2024, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), but the latest incident on April 3 disrupted operations at the airport. 

Operation of the runway at the General Santos City Airport was disrupted for a while after fire broke out at the five-hectare grassland within the airport compound.

“Yung mga nag-la-landing nag-(stand by) muna for a while para ma-ensure ang safety nila at ang mga nag-take off pero sandali lang naman yun para mawala lang yung usok,” General Santos City Airport Manager, Joel Gavina, said.

Authorities had a hard time putting out the fire due to the challenging wind conditions.

“Medyo dugay siya due to wind condition. Ang atong team didto kauban ang firefighting team from the CAAP. Ang firefighting nato nag start around 10 a.m. nahuman siya mga 3 p.m. na. From the north side after pila ka minutes ang hangin mobalhin na sab sa south side mo tranfer na pod ang kalayo,” Bureau of Fire Protection-General Santos Public Information Officer, FO3 Lester John Muñez, said.

A netizen captured a photo of a plane taxiing with thick smoke from the grassfire on the foreground. 

Gavina said the grass within the airport compound have already dried up due to the extreme heat.

A few hours after the fire broke out at the airport, another grassfire hit the diversion road in the city. The thick smoke from the grassfire covered the road, prompting several motorists to stop temporarily and waited for the smoke to dissipate.

“Usually gyud naay nagsunog, naay nagdaob, dili nila macontrol usually nag-expect sila nga magdaob lang sila sa certain na area ang masunog wala nila nacalculate nga ang debri from the fire manglupad maadto siya sa mga sagbot which eventually caused the fire,” Muñez said. —GMA Regional TV