8 fresh forest fires in Uttarakhand, IAF assists in firefighting ops

Dehradun, April 28

The firefighting operation in Uttarakhand’s forests with the help of an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter continued for the second day on Sunday with the blaze being brought under control in several areas, officials said.

The state reported eight fresh forest fires in the last 24 hours, gutting 11.75 hectares, compared to the 23 such incidents damaging 34.175 hectares from Friday evening to Saturday evening, the forest department said in its daily bulletin.

Since November 1, 2023, Uttarakhand has so far recorded 606 forest fires in which 735.815 hectares of forest land were gutted, the bulletin said.

No major fire broke out in the forests over the past 24 hours, Kumaon’s Chief Conservator of Forest Prasanna Kumar Patro said. In the Kumaon region, fires are raging at two to three places in Nainital district and at one place each in Champawat, Almora, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar, Patro said.

The forest blaze in Nainital and adjoining areas is gradually being brought under control after the deployment of the IAF helicopter, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said.