Wildfires show no sign of slowing

Srinagar, Feb 17: Extreme dry weather conditions have turned forests across Kashmir into a tinderbox.

Over the last few weeks, forest fire incidents have surged amidst a long-drawn-out dry spell with Pinglish being the latest affected area.

Since last week, multiple forest fires have been reported from the Tral subdivision.

Besides Pinglish, wildfires also raged in the forests of Nagwadi, Seer Jagir, Zarihal, Panzoo, Pinner Jageer, and Guchoo villages of the subdivision.

Wildlife Warden Shopian Division, Suhail Ahmad told Greater Kashmir that joint teams of Wildlife Department, Forest Department, NDRF, and CRPF personnel worked hard to extinguish the fire in Pinglish.

He said that at other places, the flames had already been extinguished.

The official said that the local volunteers played a crucial role in quelling the flames.

The forest fires spurned the authorities to launch firefighting operations to contain the blaze and prevent further damage to the forested area.

Fire extinguishers, fireballs, beaters, and blowers are being pressed into service to douse the flames.

According to the Wildlife Warden, a protracted dry spell is the key reason behind the wildfires across Kashmir.

However, an environmentalist said that human activities in the woods were mainly responsible for spurring the forest fires.

“Most of the forest fires are related to human activities,” he said.

According to the Forest Research Institute, around 95 percent of forest fires in India are caused by humans.

The Forest Survey of India (FSI) estimates that approximately 35 percent of India’s forests are prone to fires, with around 3.73 million hectares affected annually.

Among these, very heavy, heavy, and frequent forest fires impact 0.87 percent, 0.14 percent, and 5.6 percent of the forest area.

This year, given the protracted dry weather conditions, the National Disaster Management Authority and FSI had already issued a forest fire warning starting from January 23.

Notably, in the last week of January, at least eight forest fire incidents were reported across J&K.