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A grass fire spreads across Taal Volcano Island starting noon of Tuesday, April 1, 2025. It was declared out by 9:05 a.m. on Wednesday, April 2, 2025.
MDRRMC Talisay Batangas via Facebook / Philstar.com's screenshot
MANILA, Philippines — The grassfire on the southwest portion of Taal Volcano in Batangas was extinguished about 21 hours after it was first observed, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Calabarzon reported.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in San Nicolas declared the fire under control at 8:42 a.m. on Wednesday, April 2, and fully extinguished by 9:05 a.m.
A grassfire spreads quickly, affecting low plants and dry areas during the dry season. The Talisay Batangas Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC) said it can be triggered by cigarettes, uncontrolled fires, or extreme heat, posing risks to the environment and nearby homes.
Initial assessments found that the blaze scorched around three to five hectares of grassland. Phivolcs first observed the fire spreading at 11:24 a.m. on Tuesday, April 1.
The grassfire was recorded by the Binintiang Munti (VTBM) Observation Station and the IP camera at CTAG in Agoncillo, Batangas. This, however, was not the first grassfire incident on Taal Volcano Island.
Two other grassfires occurred on March 3, 2023 and May 2, 2024, which Phivolcs attributed to kindling.
The Coast Guard District of Southern Tagalog reported that a joint response team from the BFP and the MDRRMO of San Nicolas was dispatched to the area as soon as the fire was sighted.
Mariton Bornas, chief of Phivolcs' Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division, told GMA Integrated News on Wednesday that no monitoring systems were impacted by the fire.
She explained that grassfires pose a risk to equipment such as cameras monitoring Taal Volcano’s crater and GPS devices tracking ground deformation.
In this case, the casing of one camera was burned, but the device itself remained intact.
She said previous grassfires on Taal Volcano were often triggered by cooking activities on the island.
“There really are people staying on Taal Volcano Island and cooking, which is what really started the fire,” Bornas said in Filipino.
The same cause was identified in the last grassfire incident in 2024 when individuals were found cooking at the site.
Bornas urged those guarding fish pens or running errands near Taal Volcano Island’s coastline to bring pre-cooked food instead, as the dry season and rising temperatures increase the risk of fires.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the latest grassfire.
Taal Volcano remains under Alert Level 1, signaling low-level unrest. Phivolcs' Wednesday bulletin reported sulfur dioxide emissions at 2,218 tonnes per day, with a 600-meter weak plume.
Potential hazards include steam- or gas-driven explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall and hazardous accumulations or releases of volcanic gas.
Entry into Taal Volcano Island’s permanent danger zone, as well as boating and occupying areas on Taal Lake, is prohibited. The public is reminded to avoid entering the zone.
