Devastating forest fires engulf Baramulla, Poonch

Altaf Baba

Baramulla/ Rajouri, Jan 12: A series of devastating forest fires continue to wreak havoc in Baramulla district of north Kashmir and Poonch district of PirPanjal region.

In Baramulla, forest fires spread from Uri to Drangbal, Uranbawa, and Hajibal areas.

The blaze, fuelled by an extended dry spell, has posed a severe threat to ecologically sensitive zones and wildlife sanctuaries, prompting urgent action by the local authorities.

The wildlife sanctuary at Lachipora which houses the Markhor, a rare wild goat species, has also witnessed a massive fire in the last few days.

The forest fire also caused a huge loss to the Mohra power project’s 11-km long wooden flume, causing concern among the local population.

An official said that some parts of the wooden flume of the Mohra power project suffered damage in the fire incident.

He said that the fire was brought under control after fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Baramulla, Parvaiz Ahmad, told Greater Kashmir that the fire had been contained in most parts of the Uri area with the majority of the damage limited to grass and bushes.

The Forest Department in collaboration with locals and the Army personnel deployed in the affected areas, employed fire beaters and portable extinguishing equipment to prevent the flames from reaching nearby forests.

The DFO Baramulla said that the fire had not yet transformed into a crown fire involving trees.

He said that the field staff of the department had so far been successful in containing the ground fire and played a pivotal role in ensuring that the fire was not converted into crown fire that involves trees.

“The crown fire would have been devastating. We have put all our efforts to ensure that the ground fire does not get converted into crown fire,” the DFO Baramulla said.

The forest officials have attributed the origin of the fire to the dry spell and pointed out agricultural activities like burning grass for fertilization as the main contributors.

With the heightened risk of wildfires, the Forest Department has established control rooms at various levels and issued an advisory urging the residents to exercise caution in forest areas.

The Jammu and Kashmir Forest Department, Baramulla, also issued a Forest Fire Advisory, emphasising the risk of devastating blazes causing loss of life and property, damage to soil fertility, biodiversity, and climate patterns, as well as health hazards.

The advisory outlined precautionary measures for residents, including avoiding open flames, reporting suspicious activities, adhering to fire restrictions, planning outdoor activities carefully, and reporting fires immediately.

Emergency contact numbers were provided for quick reporting, underscoring the importance of people’s involvement in preventing and controlling forest fires.

Meanwhile, the forest fire in the dense vegetation cover of BhataDhurian Nar in Mendhar, Poonch in PirPanjal region continued for the second consecutive day on Friday with fire fighting operations in the area still going on.

The fire erupted in Nar forests in the wee hours on Thursday and it soon engulfed the area spreading a dense cover of smoke covering several kilometers, making it difficult for the people in these areas to breathe.

Locals said that the fire rapidly spread in the forest on Thursday and damaged the forest cover badly after which flames were brought under control by locals and Forest Department’s staff.

However, on Friday, they said the fire erupted again and engulfed more area of the forest in Nar, creating a wave of concern among the local population.

They said that besides the loss of green gold, wild animals present in the dense forest cover had also been affected badly due to the fire.

Locals said that though fire flames were brought under control on Thursday late evening, due to the severe dry nature of the forest bed amid lack of rainfall, the fire erupted again on Friday and spread rapidly in the area.

Assistant Director Forest Protection Force, MasoodChoudhary told Greater Kashmir that around 20 kanal of forest land was affected so far.

“We fear the further spread of fire although best possible efforts are being put in to control it,” he said. “The forest in Nar, BhataDhurian is dense having pine trees, shrubs and bushes that make this forest very dense, resulting in fast spread of flames.”

Choudhary said that the fire fighting operation was going on in the area with the locals, Fire and Emergency Services, Forest Department staff, Forest Protection Force, and Police working jointly to control the flames from further spread.