The fire in the forest of Uttarakhand is still smoldering

Air Force helicopters assisting put out the fire

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) – The forest fire in Nainital, Uttarakhand, has not been controlled for the last four days. The fire is smouldering and forest department personnel, fire brigade, Police and soldiers are also trying to bring it under control. The Indian Air Force deployed two Mi-17 helicopters and the Army assisted forest officials to douse a forest fire threatening an Air Force station and a residential settlement in Nainital, Uttarakhand, on Saturday. The helicopters collected water using Bambi buckets from Bhimtal Lake and conducted over a dozen sorties, successfully extinguishing the fire near the Lariyakanta Air Force station by afternoon, said Nainital sub-divisional magistrate Pramod Kumar.

Earlier, in 2019 and 2021, MI-17 helicopters were used to bring the fires under control. Due to the smoke of the fire, people nearby are having trouble breathing. The Chief Minister of the state Pushkar Singh Dhami has given instructions to the administration regarding the forest fire.

Uttarakhand #ForestFire still rages on; Effort of #AirForce Helicopters to douse the fire !

MI-17 Helicopter#IndianAirForce pic.twitter.com/VPiZXUlDhC

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) April 27, 2024

1. The forest fires in Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi, Pauri and Tehri, Dehradun in the Garhwal division continue to go out of control. As the area is mostly covered with pine trees, the heat is causing the fire to spread quickly. In many places, there is no water to extinguish the fire.

2. Forest fires are burning in the Nainital, Bageshwar, Almora and Pithoragarh areas of the Kumaon division. Along with this, wild animals are also rushing towards rural areas.

3. This year, 575 forest fires have been reported across Uttarakhand, out of which an estimated 690 hectares of forest have been reduced to ashes. As a result, the loss is estimated to be Rs 14.41 crore.

Three people arrested for igniting the fire

Police arrested three people for igniting a fire in the Rudraprayag forest. The names of those arrested are Naresh Bhatt, Hemant Singh and Bhagwati Lal. So far, a total of 19 cases have been registered in the arson case, out of which 16 cases are under investigation.