Aravalis fire wrecks 2 sq km forest area, doused after 8 hrs


Aravalis fire wrecks 2 sq km forest area, doused after 8 hrs

15 April 2016

published by http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com


India– A major fire broke out in the Aravalli forest area at Titdali village near Badshahpur on Thursday and quickly spread to a two km area due to string winds, officials said. Firefighters took nearly eight hours to control the blaze. However, there have been no reports of any casualty or damage to properties.

Officials said forest fire is a new phenomenon in the Aravalis and they consider it as sign of good health of the forest. “Forest fire takes place only when we have enough grass and trees. With the increase in conservation effort, the health of the forest has improved,” said conservator of forest (Gurgaon circle) MD Sinha.

He said the fire broke out in the afternoon and rapidly spread to a two km area due to strong winds. “We have a forest post in the area, so we got timely information and acted quickly to control fire,” Sinha said, adding the terrain was very difficult and fire tenders were not able to go beyond a point.

“Fire fighters adopted traditional methods like dumping green trunks of trees, creating fire line on the ground and used sand to douse the flames,” Sinha said.

He, however, ruled out that the fire was an act of arson. “Anyway, we will investigate whether fire was caused due to natural reasons. Enforcement will be increased in the area,” the forest conservator said.

He said forest fire is a new phenomenon and department will have to be equipped to deal with such incidents. “We have decided to purchase a fire tender for every forest range to act on time in case of a fire,” said Sinha


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