Bush fire breaks out on Pulau Ubin bike trail

SINGAPORE - A bush fire broke out at a bike trail on Pulau Ubin on Wednesday (June 24) night.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) received a call at 9.18pm about the fire at the Ketam bike trail. About 10 officers, along with firefighting equipment, were transported to Pulau Ubin by a Police Coast Guard (PCG) boat from the PCG Loyang Base.

There were pockets of fire in an area of about two football fields. The fire was extinguished at 11.30pm using canvass beaters, buckets of water and fire extinguishers, the SCDF told The Straits Times.

No one on the island had to be evacuated, nor were there injuries due to the blaze.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Meanwhile, Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) on the island posted a message on Facebook to assure concerned parents and the public that "none of (their) OBS participants and staff (were) affected by the fire.

The Ketam trail, which winds about 8km around Ketam Quarry, lures around 300 cyclists every weekend, according to a Straits Times report in 2013. Completed in 2007, it is the first trail in Singapore to be built according to International Mountain Bicycling Association standards, which include trail safety, planning and design.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.