Uttarakhand recorded eight fresh forest fires in the past 24 hours, resulting in the destruction of 11.75 hectares of land. This marked a decrease from the 23 incidents reported on Friday evening to Saturday evening, which had damaged 34.175 hectares, according to the forest department's daily bulletin, news agency PTI reported. Since November 1, 2023, the state has faced a total of 606 forest fires, leading to the devastation of 735.815 hectares of forest land, as stated in the bulletin.
Kumaon's Chief Conservator of Forest, Prasanna Kumar Patro, informed that no major fires had erupted in the forests over the preceding 24 hours. However, fires continued to rage at two to three locations in Nainital district and one place each in Champawat, Almora, Pithoragarh, and Bageshwar within the Kumaon region.
Patro mentioned that the fire in the forests of Ladiyakata and Pines area on the Nainital-Bhowali road had been extinguished with the assistance of the IAF helicopter, which was deployed on Saturday. The decision to employ the helicopter came after a forest fire in Nainital had approached dangerously close to the High Court Colony and an Air Force base containing sensitive equipment on Friday.
The firefighting operation in Uttarakhand's forests, aided by an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter, persisted for the second consecutive day on Sunday, with officials indicating progress in controlling the blaze across several areas. The efforts have intensified to combat the raging forest fires in the state, particularly in the severely affected zones of Nainital, Haldwani, and Ramnagar forest divisions, forest officials confirmed on Sunday, as per news agency PTI.
The forest fires have gradually come under control, with extinguishment efforts succeeding in many areas. Officials reported the complete extinguishment of fires in the Marora and Khanana civil areas within the Maniknath range of the Narendranagar forest division. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, following a review of the situation in the Kumaon region on Saturday night, stated, "The forest blaze in Nainital and adjoining areas is gradually being brought under control after the deployment of an IAF helicopter for the firefighting operations on Saturday morning", as quoted by PTI.
According to the Indian Air Force, a Mi-17 V5 helicopter has been deployed in Nainital and surrounding regions to combat the flames. Alongside the IAF helicopter and Army personnel, Prantiya Rakshak Dal volunteers and homeguard personnel have also been enlisted to aid in firefighting operations, disclosed Kumaon Commissioner Deepak Rawat. Additional government vehicles, two for each of the three forest divisions, have been allocated to swiftly transport firefighting teams to affected areas, Rawat added.
Acknowledging the crucial role of local communities, Rawat mentioned, "Help from locals with the involvement of forest panchayat officials is also being taken as they are the first responders to forest fires." Forest department personnel are actively engaging with communities in hillside villages to raise awareness about forest fires, revealed Garhwal DFO Anirudh Swapnil during a briefing in Pauri. According to PTI, He stated, "Loudspeakers are being used to spread the messages, urging people to report any forest blaze immediately to the authorities and refrain from burning garbage or carelessly discarding burning items like cigarettes or bidis in forest areas."
In an effort to deter deliberate setting of fires, Swapnil emphasised, "People are also being asked to report to the authorities if they catch someone setting a fire in the forests. Any person reporting such a violation will be rewarded by the forest department." He warned of legal consequences under the Forest Act 1927 for those found guilty of igniting forest fires.
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Highlighting a common practice in the region, it was noted that burning forests to obtain fresh grass for cattle is widespread in Uttarakhand's hills. In response to the escalating situation, Chief Minister Dhami has revoked leave for forest department officials until the fire situation is completely under control. He stated, "Leave applications of forest department personnel will be considered only in case of medical emergencies."
Providing insights into the firefighting efforts, officials disclosed that the IAF helicopter utilised a Bambi bucket to collect water from Naini and Bhimtal lakes and poured it over the burning forests in areas including Pines, Bhumiadhar, Jyolikot, Narayan Nagar, Bhawali, Ramgarh, and Mukteshwar. The Bambi bucket has a capacity of up to 5,000 litres of water at a time.
The situation remained critical on Friday, with officials reporting 31 fresh incidents of forest fire from various parts of the state, resulting in the destruction of 33.34 hectares of forest land. A particularly severe fire near Nainital posed a threat to residents of High Court Colony and disrupted traffic movement in the area, PTI reported.