(8/31/2012)
A forest fire is burning on the northern slopes of Bali’s sacred Mount Agung volcano - near the villages of Ban, Munting and Kubu, approximately 50 kilometers from the City of Amlapura.
On Friday, August 30, 2012, the flames of the fire could be seen at considerable distances from the fire's location at coastal locations acorss the island's north. Local citizens reported the fire initially subsided during the day on Friday, only to regain strength and reappear with more ferocity later in the day.
By mid-day Saturday the fires were affecting an area covering 400 hectares/
Small trees and dried brush are feeding the fire. Locals say such fires are not rare, but the size of the current forest fire is remarkable.
Some observers are suggesting the fire may have been started by careless behavior by local people using torches to harvest wild honey from trees on the slopes of the mountain.
Hundred of fire-fighting personnel were dispatched to the location of the bush fire on Saturday in a coordinated effort to bring the fire under control.
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