Forests of Uttarakhand and Himachal flared up as the heat increased, loss of lakhs due to forest fire

The scorching heat is making the fire in the forests of Uttarakhand and Himachal more blazing. It has so far engulfed 6785 hectares of forests in both the states. According to the State of Forest Report-2022, 3,45,989 incidents of forest fires were recorded in India between November 2020 and June 2021, while 2,58,480 incidents occurred in the year 2018-19 during the same interval.

1992 incidents of fire affected 2785 hectares of forest in Uttarakhand

Forest fires are taking a formidable form in Uttarakhand. More than 2785 hectares of forest area has been affected in 1992 incidents of forest fire in the state this season. On Friday alone, there were 155 incidents of forest fire in the state, affecting more than 203 hectares of forest area. In the very first month of the forest fire season starting from April 1 to June 30, the fire has damaged 2581 hectares of forest wealth.

1246 hectares of forest of Kumaon region and 833.6 hectares of forest of Garhwal region and 353.4 hectares of administrative wildlife area have come under fire. There were 1028 fire incidents in the state's protected forests, while 415 incidents were reported in the Van Panchayat. The loss so far is estimated to be around Rs 61.5 lakh. In the incidents so far, a woman resident of Pithoragarh has died and six employees of the forest department have been injured.

4000 hectares of forest in Himachal, 645 fire incidents

Forest fires have caused a lot of damage to forest wealth in Himachal. About 4000 hectares in 719 forests have been affected since April 1. The maximum number of fire incidents occurred at 60 places in Shimla district. Incidents of fire are also going on in Kangra, Mandi, Chamba. So far, the fire has caused a loss of Rs 95 lakh. A total of 645 such incidents have taken place in this season.

Fire department personnel are dousing the fire in the forests adjacent to the roads. According to CCF Anil Sharma of the Forest Department, cattle and people were also scorched in the fire in many districts. 9000 Forest Fire Volunteers have been deployed in the state to prevent loss of life and to douse the fire. Pine and deodar forests suffer the most in forest fire. Pine and deodar forests constitute 15% of the total forest area in Himachal Pradesh.