NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – A fire on the eastern slope of Kanlaon Volcano in the central Philippines was largely contained by Wednesday, April 9, after heavy overnight rain helped douse the blaze, authorities said.

The fire had been burning since Tuesday, April 8, when an eruption ignited vegetation within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone, according to Task Force Kanlaon head Raul Fernandez. He said the rain was a “miracle.”

The blaze spread quickly due to dry conditions and high temperatures. The state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) recorded a heat index of more than 40 degrees Celsius in Negros Occidental since Tuesday’s eruption.

Authorities said they were unable to send teams to the affected area due to steep terrain and ongoing volcanic activity, which also prevented the use of aircraft for firefighting.

Thick clouds, however, covered the summit later in the day, and a sustained downpour that began around midnight helped suppress the fire. Low visibility and rainfall continued into early Wednesday.

A significant portion of vegetation near the volcano’s summit was damaged, according to initial assessments. Officials said the full extent of the impact has yet to be determined.

Before the rain, the situation had been bleak. The fire threatened not only nearby communities but also key biodiversity zones. Without a break, it could have spread further – fast, wide, and beyond control.

Volcanologist Mari-Andylene Quintia of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) in La Carlota City confirmed on Wednesday afternoon the heavy downpour over the Kanlaon Volcano area hours earlier.

However, Negros Occidental Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office head Joan Nathaniel Gerangaya said authorities could not yet declare a total fire out.

Gerangaya told Rappler on Thursday, April 10, that thick cloud cover has prevented aerial assessments of the volcano for two consecutive days.

“There’s no conclusion yet because clouds are still enveloping almost half of the volcano. We cannot see a clearer picture yet,” Gerangaya said.

The PENRO and Task Force Kanlaon were still unable to conduct assessments due to access restrictions imposed in the area.

Crisis far from over

The crisis is far from over for thousands of families who remain in evacuation centers after being displaced by the Kanlaon Volcano eruption in December 2024.

“Diyos ko, san-o pa ni matapos? (Lord, when will this end?),” said Flora Mae Baricuatro, 39, an evacuee from Barangay Mansalanao in La Castellana town.

Baricuatro, her husband, and their three children are currently staying at Saint Vincent’s School, which has been converted into a temporary shelter.

“We don’t have a problem with food. We have enough. But what we want now is just to go home and live a normal life,” she told Rappler on Wednesday..

The Baricuatro family’s home is located within the six-kilometer-radius danger zone.

More crisis response fund

Fernandez told Rappler that the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has secured approval for an additional quick response fund of about P80 million.

The funding is expected to support the urgent needs of local governments in La Carlota City and La Castellana in Negros Occidental, as well as Canlaon City in Negros Oriental. However, no timeline has been given for the release of the funds.

Negros Occidental 5th District Representative Dino Yulo said the ongoing Kanlaon crisis has stretched local capacity and drained resources across all sectors.

“Everyone involved in this crisis since December 9 last year is physically, mentally and emotionally tired,” said Yulo, whose district includes La Castellana.

He said the prolonged displacement has affected two groups in particular – adults who have lost income opportunities and students whose education has been disrupted.

Yulo noted that based on his one-on-one conversations with evacuees, many are experiencing mental distress due to joblessness and uncertainty.

He said he was worried too for the displaced students whose studies were impacted by the crisis.

John de Asis, head of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office in La Castellana, said the lack of privacy and long wait for resettlement have also taken a toll on evacuees’ mental health.

“The national government’s intervention is badly needed now,” he said. “We at the local level can no longer afford to solve this dragging Kanlaon crisis.”

He called on the national government to identify a larger, permanent relocation site for the more than 4,000 evacuees, ideally with access to farmland and livelihood support.

“They’re not office workers, they are all farmers, so detaching them from farming activities is an inapt move,” he warned, adding that the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) needs to look for viable land for the displaced families.

‘Rescue us now!’

La Castellana Mayor Alme Rhummylan Nicor-Mangilimutan has appealed to the national government for immediate intervention, saying the local government can no longer sustain thousands of evacuees displaced by the Kanlaon Volcano eruptions.

“Rescue us now!” she said.

La Castellana continues to shelter 4,237 evacuees from the villages of Biak Na Bato, Cabanag-an, Masulog, Mansalanao, and Sag-ang. A total of 1,360 families remain in eight evacuation centers in the municipality.

Mangilimutan said a P50-million aid from Malacañang in December 2024, funneled through a provincial government, has been used to cover daily lunches and dinners for the evacuees. But the program is scheduled to end on April 12.

Breakfasts are currently being provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Once that ends, the local government will again be responsible for providing food, something the mayor said they can no longer afford.

“We have no ample funds now to feed them, to buy for diapers, medicines, and even for the tuition and daily allowances of the student evacuees,” Mangilimutan said. “We are just a municipality,” she said. – Rappler.com