25 acres of forest razed on first day
25 acres of forest razed on first day
06 April 2011
published by www.kuenselonline.com
Bhutan — A fire that started from Pam village in Trashigang at around 12:30 pm yesterday spread up the hill and raged on through the night.
A possible cause was some debris burnt yesterday morning. An old man in Pam burnt some trash near his kitchen in the morning. However, he said that he had extinguished it.
Villagers from Pam, Rangshikhar, dzongkhag and forest officials and police personnel battled the fire until late evening yesterday. They dispersed as darkness fell to gather today by 5 am. The fire has already consumed 25 acres by yesterday evening.
Forest ranger Wangchuk from Trashigang forest division said that steep terrain and strong winds from mid noon hampered their efforts to control the fire.
This is the third fire incident in the dzongkhag and the second fire incident in a span of ten days. The first one took place above Bamridrang.
The previous fire on March 26 burnt the whole ridge up to Muktangkhar from Godi in Bartsham . The initial estimate of forest officials say more than 700 acres were destroyed. The fire was put off three days later.
A similar forest fire outbreak last year in the same area destroyed over 1000 acres of forest.
