Uttarakhand forest fires brought down; rain relief expected

Number of active fires drop sharply to 40 in the hill state; Centre claims the situation is "under control"

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Forest fires raging through large parts of Uttarakhand began showing signs of abating on Monday as two Indian Air Force (IAF) choppers and more than 10,000 personnel continued firefighting operations for the second day.

The number of active fires dropped sharply to 40 in the hill state and the Centre claimed the situation was "under control". "There had been steep fall in the forest fire incidents on Monday. Through our satellite imageries, we have seen only 40 forest fires on Monday evening," said S Ramaswami, Additional Chief Secretary (Forests).

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Three persons were arrested from Pithoragarh and Nainital for burning dry leaves and stoking the fires. So far, the fires have destroyed 2,876 hectares of forests.

Air Force helicopters continued to spray waters on the forests by conducting 8 sorties - each of 4,000-5,000 litres of waters.

In Delhi, Union Minister of State for Home Kirren Rijiju said the fires have been largely contained. "According to the latest information, fire has been contained. Situation is under control now," Rijiju told reporters.