Up in smoke: Uttarakhand looks to the clouds, forest fires rage on

In the last 2 or 3 days, forest fires have broken out with seething frenzy in many areas of the hill state, and are threatening to destroy the rich plant and animal wealth of the Himalayan region

The Uttarakhand forest department has turned its gaze heavenwards, hoping and praying that the meteorological department’s weather forecast proves ac­curate and the rain gods co­me to the rescue of the state that’s struggling with forest fires.

In the last two or three days, forest fires have broken out with seething frenzy in many areas of the hill state, and are threatening to destroy the rich plant and animal wealth of the Himalayan region, particularly in its wildlife sanctuaries.

Already two government schools and a tea garden have been destroyed in the Pauri district. More than 1,600 hectare of forest area has gone up in smoke so far this season. And in Pithoragarh district, residents have started complaining of breathing difficulties due to heavy smoke.

Forest fires are not a recent phenomenon in Uttarakhand. Every year, fires break out in the state in the beginning of summer. The state experiences scanty rainfall in winter and the pine trees, which are mostly dry and packed with the inflammable resin, fuel their spread. In the last six days alone, 362 such incidents have been reported, destroying forest wealth worth Rs 14.19 lakh.

However, in most places, the forest fires have so far remained confined to the ground level, and the trees have remained untouched. Crown fires, where trees get burnt, have not been seen in Uttarakhand this time around, says Man Singh, the nodal officer of the state forest department on forest fires.

A majority of the forest fires can be traced to humans, say experts. This is why during the lockdown last year, there weren’t as many fires and the ones that did break out did not assume alarming proportions and largely went unnoticed.

But this year, big fires have been reported in places like Nainital and Pauri. So much so that Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat had to turn to the Centre for help. Union Home Minister Amit Shah then sent two Indian Air Force helicopters and also assured help from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). 

Despite the intervention, the situation continues to be alarming right from the Pithoragarh hills in the east to the Chakrata hills in the west. Though IAF helicopters tried to douse the fires at Tehri and in other areas, the initial results were not satisfactory.

Now, the rain, predicted by the meteorological department, is the only hope, officials say. “We are expecting rains in parts of the hills and are hopeful that most of the forest fires will be contained thereafter,” says Rajiv Bhartari, principal chief conservator who heads the forest department. And on April 7, it did rain. In some areas, the fires have since started scaling down. 

According to official data from the state forest department, more than 1,150 incidents of forest fires have been reported in the last five or six months. The intensity of the blazes has increased in a number of places in the last couple of days, prompting the authorities into action. In the past 12 hours, 75 more incidents have been reported in which 105.85 hectare of forest has been gutted. 

In a statement, Chief Minister Rawat said his government is taking both long-term and short-term measures to control the fires. The forest department has deployed most of its guards to control the fires. In a video that went viral, state forest minister Harak Singh Rawat was also seen trying to douse a fire in Pauri district by beating it with a shrub.  

According to Ajay Rawat, an expert on forest fires and a former professor at Kumaon University, there are several factors that cause these incidents. “The forest department must take steps in close coordination with villagers, for both immediate and long-term measures,” he says.

Experts says presence of inf­l­a­mmable material in the proximity of the forest also needs to be dealt with and such material ought to be removed immediately. They also say that commercial use of pine nee­dles, whi­ch cause the spread of forest fir­es, needs to be speeded up. The BJP government in the state has come out with a separate policy on co­m­mercial utilisation of pine needles for producing electricity.