A brush fire reportedly caused by a cigarette butt broke out last Tuesday morning, April 12, 2016 in Barangay (village) San Remedios, Danao, Bohol.

Fire officials of the Danao Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) told DYRD Balita that the fire that billowed plumes of black smoke started at 10AM and was reported to have started in the tree farm owned by a German national who refused to be denied.

The one hour fire was deemed under control by the Danao BFD shortly before noon after firetrucks from the neighboring towns responded to the fire alarm.

The tree farm was considered a potential tinderbox as hot temperatures and dry conditions brought by a severe El Nino created the perfect condition for a brush fire that charred an estimated radius of three kilometers.

According to Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer (PENRO) Nestor Canda, more than 300 hectares of land has been hit with grassfire with dry vegetation and leaves – “a perfect recipe for a brushfire”.

Residents nearby battled the one hour blaze preventing the further spread of the fire while awaiting for the arrival of the firetrucks.

Bohol has been declared a state of calamity after damages amounting to P312 million pesos destroyed 12,000 hectares of rice and cornfields and other agricultural crops due to a prevailing dry spell.