Shimla: Twenty-five forest fires were reported in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, taking the number of such blazes during this summer season to 1,038 so far, officials said. Property worth about Rs 3 crore has been damaged, they said. However, no casualty was reported, said Assistant Chief Conservator of Forests Pushpinder Rana.
"We have over 3,000 local field officers and holidays of staff have been cancelled," he told PTI, adding that 18,000 volunteers of the state disaster management authority are rendering help and 'aapada mitra' (volunteers for disaster response) have also come forward to help the forest department in dousing the fire.
"So far 38 FIRs have been registered and 600 complaints have been given to the police for investigation and action against offenders, and we have also asked the general public to share photos and videos if they see someone lighting fire in the forests," he added. Himachal Pradesh's Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Rajiv Kumar attributed the forest fire incidents to rise in temperature due to heatwave conditions prevailing in the state.
Human activities like throwing a burning cigarette in the forest and lighting up a fire for various purposes also lead to a large number of fires, he said, adding that efforts are being taken to control such incidents. Out of the 25 incidents reported Wednesday, one fire incident was reported in Dharampur in Solan district in which the fire spread to a building, causing an estimated loss in lakhs.
The fire broke out at around 11:30 am in the forests from where it reached a nearby house, where a car workshop was also there. In another incident, forest fire damaged two vehicles parked on the roadside in Sri Naina Devi in Bilaspur. A video of the incident also went viral on social media. The vehicles were owned by local priests Vikas Sharma and Vishal Sharma.
Himachal has a total of 2,026 forest beats out of which 339 are 'very sensitive', 667 'sensitive' and 1,020 'less prone' to forest fires. Frequent fires were witnessed in Shimla, Solan, Bilaspur, Mandi and Kangra districts. As many as 13 people have died while fighting fire in the past ten years, as per the officials of the forest department.
