Big bush fire hits Capital Hill area

A big bush fire broke out on Capital Hill yesterday afternoon, sweeping down the mountain from Wireless Ridge to the outskirts of Tanapag Village.

The bush fire was reported to the Department of Public Safety at 1:46pm. As of 6:30pm last night, the flames could still be seen approaching Tanapag. The blaze could also be seen still threatening destruction to houses atop the Ridge around Zorrie Flats.

DPS spokesperson Lei Ogumoro told Saipan Tribune that as of 5:30pm no one has been reported injured and no house has been burned.

Ogumoro said that 10 DPS firefighters were in the area trying to contain the blaze.

Ogumoro said there is no information yet as to the origin of the fire.

“The cause of the fire has yet to be determined by fire investigators,” she said.

The DPS spokesperson said she has no information whether some houses will be affected if the fire continues to spread out.

Although witnesses said the fire was big, the extent of the blaze was also not clear yet.

Firefighters stood watch, with equipment at the ready, to battle the multi-line blaze should it reach the residential area.

As of 6:30pm, the northern fireline was near the Magellan Hotel while the southern firebreak still holds at a ridgeline near houses close to the cemetery. The flames were still spreading as this goes to press.

Earlier, at around 1:15pm, firefighters Nick Kapileo and Steve Limes arrived at the Wireless Cemetery to find the Forest Service fire engine on the scene. Together they dragged hoses from their DPS Fire Department Engine No. 5 to a fire line some 400 feet away, trying to keep the flames from sweeping into the cemetery. They managed to extinguish the blaze a scant 50 feet from the edge of the consecrated property.

According to Kapileo: “The fire is still under investigation, and no known cause has yet been found.” Kapileo went on to say that their primary job was to “try to keep the fire from spreading to the residential area where it might endanger lives and property.”

Limes noted that it had been three or four years since a fire of this magnitude struck the rugged hillsides above Tanapag.

In the past, hunters of small roe deer and of coconut crabs have been known to set the meadows and forests afire to flush out the game in order to harvest it. Information campaigns have been waged by local environmental groups to get the word out that the fires devastate mountainside vegetation, causing severe erosion. The soil runoff goes directly into the lagoon, killing the fish and smothering the corals and other marine life there. [B][I](Ferdie dela Torre and Bruce Bateman)[/I][/B]