Forest caught fire in Uttarakhand: What could be the causes?

Forest fires have been an issue of great concern in Uttarakhand, especially in Nainital, that has been dealing with the issue at present. the forest fires in Nainital have consumed about 108 hectares so far. In the recent days, over 26 incidents of forest fires have taken place in the Kumaon region. Not to miss, five incidents of forest fires have also occurred in Garhwal. Fires have taken over about 34.175 hectares of forest, as suggested by the state forest department.

Mr. Chandra Shekhar Joshi, the District Forest Officer of Nainital has stated that the very first incident of forest fire in the recent days have taken place in the Nanda rage. It then spread to the IAF establishment in the region.

Great efforts have been directed towards setting off the ongoing fires. Various stakeholders have been actively participating in setting off the forest fire, such as the Army personnel, the Indian Air Force, the homeguard personnel, and the Prantiya Rakshak Dal volunteers. These groups have played a great role in conducting firefighting operations.

Now, while these groups have been actively participating in setting off the forest fires, it is important to understand the key reasons behind the Nainital forest fires.

What have led to forest fires in Kumaon, Uttarakhand?

An important contributor to forest fires is the heightened dryness. This dryness has been a result of the heat wave in the Nainital and Champawat districts, surrounding Nepal. This has been seen as an important reason behind the forest fires in the state of Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand has been a state that has experienced scanty winter rainfall along with scanty snowfall this year since the month of September.

Wildfires are not new to the state of Uttarakhand. Such wildfires usually take place from the months of February to June. These are the moths of dry and hot weather. Incidents like these occured due to the presence of dry leaves and pine needles, along with other flammable objects in the forest. These flammable substances play the role of fuel to fires.

It is important to note, however, that as per a report by the Forest Research Institute released in the year 2019, a total of 95 percent of forest fires are actually caused by human activities, The Forest research Institute falls under the ambit of the Ministry of Environment.

There are times when the locals in the era set grass on fire in order to clear the region for grazing animals or fore agriculture, When fires like these started by humans spread to a great extent, they turn into raging forest fires.