Alarming forest fires a cause of concern
As per data, currently over 45 forest fires have damaged over 68 acres of forest land in the last 24 hours
DEHRADUN: Raging forest fires in Uttarakhand have reached an alarming level, prompting the state government to convene an emergency meeting and to seek the help of Centre. Since January 1, the state has reported 1,028 forest fire incidents, in which 1,359 hectares of forest land has been damaged. Currently over 45 forest fires are raging in hill districts, which have damaged over 68 acres of forest land in the last 24 hours.
The forest fires have reached an alarming level in some districts like Pauri, Almora, Nainital, Pithoragarh and Tehri. In Nainital, even Oak forests, which have high water content than Pine trees and are comparatively resistant to forest fires, are in the raging fires. The alarming fires this year are a grim reminder of 2016, when over 4400 hectares of forests were damaged in forest fires.
The official forest fire season starts on February 15 and ends on June 15.
This year till April 4, of 1028 forest fire incidents, the maximum 254 fires have been reported in Pauri Garhwal, followed by 94 in Pithoragarh, 94 in Bageshwar, 91 in Nainital, 88 in Tehri, 71 in Uttarkashi and so on, according to the data provided by the state forest department. Even the plain districts like Haridwar and US Nagar have reported 15 and 1 forest fires respectively this year. Four people have also been charred to death in these fires this year, compared
Of the two divisions of the state, forest fires are raging more in Garhwal division. In Garhwal, 610 forest fire incidents have been reported this year, which has damaged over 788 hectares of forest land, in Kumaon, 386 incidents have been reported, which have damaged over 538 hectares.
Given the alarming forest fires, the chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat, convened an emergency meeting of the senior officials on Sunday here though videoconferencing, directing them that response time to forest fires be reduced.
Rawat also cancelled the leave of all forest officials and directed the forest watchers to keep a tab on fire incidents 24X7. He directed officials to seek the help of van panchayats and local people in checking forest fires. He also ordered officials to chalk out a long-term plan to reduce forest fire incidents to a minimum and set up fire control rooms and fire stations at tehsil and block level.
Rawat also informed that he spoke to home minister Amit Shah regarding the situation in the state, and he told him that Centre is ending two choppers, one of which will be stationed at Gochar and it will draw water from Srinagar, while another Chopper will be stationed at Haldwani, which will draw water from Bhimtal lake.
Amit Shah also tweeted, “I spoke with Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat and sought information about forest fires in the state. To take control over forest fire in Uttarakhand, Central government has given orders to deploy
NDRF teams and provide helicopter to the Uttarakhand government”
On why the state is reporting alarming forest fires this hear, Man Singh, nodal officer for forest fires in the state forest department said that this year there have been 65% less rainfall which coupled with a rise in temperatures has led to a spike in forest fires. “We are taking a lot of measures to contain the alarming situation. It seems that 2021 could be a repeat of 2016 when over 4400 hectares of forest land was damaged in forest fires. We will make all possible efforts to reduce forest fires and seek the help of locals in this regard”, he said.
Rohit Thapliyal, scientist at Indian Meteorological Centre Dehradun said this year, Uttarakhand reported normal rainfall. “The rainfall was below normal by around 30% in January, by around 50% in February and by around 70% in March. Besides, on many days, the maximum daily temperature was above the normal in the state, creating dry conditions”, he said
Why Uttarakhand reports so many forest fires
Uttarakhand has a forest area of over 38,000 sq km which constitutes 71% of the total geographical area of the state. More area under forests with human habitations near by, means more chances of forest fire. Given the diversity of forests in the state, Uttarakhand forests are prone to forest fires. In Uttarakhand, 0.17% of total forest cover comes under the extremely fire-prone category, 1.60% under very highly fireprone, 9.32% under highly fireprone, 21.66% under moderately fire-prone and 67.25% under less fire-prone category.
Forest fire activity is generally reported from February to June, with a peak in fire incidence in May and June. Three types of forest fires are reported in the state including Ground fires, Surface fire and Crown fires.
Forest fire activity is generally reported in Uttarakhand from February to June, with a peak in fire incidence in May and June. Besides man-made, other reasons for forest fires in the state include lightning, friction of falling rocks and monkeys accidently throwing stones that create sparks leading to forest fires.
Over the year, many activists, experts and even courts have been raising questions over the forests fires in the hill state. During the forest fire last year, 172 hectares of jungles were affected.
The forest area affected due to forest fires in 2019 was 2,981 hectares. The corresponding figure was 4,480 hectares in 2018, 1,228 hectares in 2017, 4,433 hectares in 2016 and 701 hectares in 2015
Hemant Gauniya, who had filed RTI on forest fires in the state in the past said despite spending so much money on fire control, large chunks of forests get damaged every year. “Why over the years, we have not been able to come out with an effective mechanism to reduce these forest fires that damage so much of our biodiversity”, he said.
In May 2018, HC while taking suo motu cognisance of the forest fires in the state, had directed the state government to submit the details of the forest fires, the kind of damage and what steps the government was taking to prevent them. The state government in its response had informed HC that 90% of the forest fires in the state were “manmade”. Surprised, the HC remarked, “We were very shocked to hear the reply of the government. How is it possible when people have migrated from thousands of villages, they have a role in 90% of the forest fires in the state”, said Pant.
In June 2019, a public Interest litigation (PIL) on forest fires in Uttarakhand filed in the Supreme Court by a Tehri Garhwal based advocate highlighting that forest fires were wiping out entire species of birds, small insects and animals and carbon dioxide emitted from the fires was causing heat in the hills resulting into a faster meltdown of glaciers, besides causing pollution and ecological imbalance. The PIL sought urgent steps be taken to protect/ safeguard the forests, wildlife and birds from the forest fires in Uttarakhand and also to ensure the right to a healthy environment.
According to forest experts, for forest fire incidents to occur, a fire triangle of air, temperature and fuel load is needed. If even one of the factors from this triangle is removed, then fire cases will automatically get reduced.
As temperature and air can’t be controlled, the best strategy is to manage the fuel load. When the fuel load from the forest floor that is pine needles is removed, then naturally cases of forest fires can be reduced.