Uttarakhand forest fires

were accused of carelessly setting their farmlands on fire, which in turn spread to the nearby forest areas.

“The fire has been happening because of mischievous elements. We are making people aware and appealing to them not to ignite anything,” Garhwal district forest officer Anirudh Swapnil was quoted as saying by PTI.

“I have asked people to inform the (forest) department whenever they find anyone igniting fire in forests. Action will be taken against people igniting fire in forest areas under the Indian Forest Act, 1927,” Swapnil said.

On Saturday, state Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal convened a meeting with officials and took stock of the situation. According to the IAF, a Mi-17 V5 helicopter was deployed in Nainital and surrounding areas to douse the flames. It conducted the ‘bambi bucket’ operation — releasing water over an area from the top — on Saturday.

Uttarakhand has recorded at least 202 forest fire incidents since April 21, the second highest number after Odisha, which reported 221 incidents, according to the Forest Survey of India (FSI).

Data from Uttarakhand Forest Department shows that at least 606 incidents of forest fires have been reported across the state since November last year, affecting 735.815 hectares of area.

On Sunday alone, 42 large forest fires were reported from Uttarakhand whereas fewer incidents were reported from Odisha (26), Jharkhand (12) and Chhattisgarh (7). In all, 108 large forest fires were reported — covering Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur and Tamil Nadu — on Sunday.

The FSI classifies 10 per cent of the country’s forests as highly prone to fire. About 36 per cent cover is prone to forest fire. Like in Uttarakhand this summer, nearly 95 per cent of the forest fires in India are triggered due to anthropogenic activities, that is, due to cigarette smoking, electric sparking, deliberate lighting of fire. Besides, natural causes like lightning, high temperatures and dryness, too, result in forests going up in flames.

The March-may period is highly prone to forest fires in India, as there is rich biomass availability following the winter season. In the absence of pr em on soon showers, the dry forests cook up a perfect recipe for fires.

As per the latest FSI data of Sunday, the fire in Nainital district has spread to neighbouring districts, including Almora, Tehri Garhwal, Bageshwar, Champawat and Pithoragarh, damaging over 30 acres of forests. The state has issued a series of directives to combat the crisis. Principal Secretary Ramesh Kumar Sudhanshu announced that forest employees have been prohibited from taking leave during the current forest fire season, except in special circumstances.