ALOR SETAR, Feb 12 — A fresh outbreak of fire occurred at 1am today on Gunung Baling, and the fire and rescue authorities fear the blaze could spread to new areas on the mountain.

Baling Fire and Rescue Station chief Mohd Jamil Mat Daud said the fire occurred in a spot where a blaze that started on Feb 6 had been put out.

"We detected the fresh fire at 1am. We sent two teams comprising 15 personnel at 8 am to put out the fire,” he said when contacted by Bernama.

Mohd Jamil said the fire was on a steep gradient and it took the teams about 90 minutes to scale to that point.

The cause of the fire on the mountain has yet to be ascertained but the fire and rescue authorities have not ruled out mountain climbing activities as a reason. — Reuters