Wildfires rage across U’khand; 447 fires recorded this season so far

Dehradun/Uttarkashi: Forest fires continued to rage in parts across Uttarakhand amid strong winds on Thursday, with frontline staff deployed across multiple districts, including Dehradun, Pauri, Chamoli, Almora, Bageshwar and Uttarkashi, to contain the blaze. However, by late evening, rains in parts of the state provided some relief to the staff from the past few days.

Officials said at least 447 fire incidents have been recorded this season so far, ravaging nearly 366 hectares of forest cover.

In Sainj village in Chamoli, Jagat Singh Rawat, 41, a fire watcher, was trapped while trying to extinguish fires. He was taken to hospital where doctors said he suffered 30% burns and is undergoing treatment.

In Chakrata, strong winds, coupled with the scorching heat on Sunday, intensified a fire that spread to the Saraswati Shishu Mandir school, charring its storeroom and scorching window panels of several classrooms. “Eyewitnesses said the fire initially broke out in the grass within the civil area and was promptly extinguished by the departmental team. It flared up again in the evening and reached the school premises, destroying a storeroom inside,” said Mayank Garg, divisional forest officer of Kalsi Soil Conservation division.

Residents also reported damage to apple orchards as flames spread rapidly across steep slopes making fire extinguishing operations challenging in the difficult terrain. “Trees in my orchard were scorched and several in neighbouring orchards were also damaged in the blaze,” said Khem Singh, a Chakrata resident. Meanwhile, nearly 80km away in Tyuni, three blazes were brought under control after several hours of firefighting operations on Thursday.

In Uttarkashi, a massive fire erupted near the Pokhu Devta Temple in Badethi area on Wednesday night. Fueled by strong winds and dry vegetation, the flames spread perilously close to residential areas and the Gangotri national highway, alarming motorists. Thick smoke engulfed a nearby guest house where around 70 pilgrims undertaking the Char Dham yatra were staying. Fire service personnel evacuated all guests to safety before launching a strenuous operation to douse the blaze.

State nodal officer of forest fire and disaster management, Sushant Patnaik, said teams are responding swiftly to every report of fire. He added that one forest personnel has lost his life this season while battling flames.