Forest fire on Margallas at 2 points
Forest fire on Margallas at 2 points
16 June 2012
published by www.thenews.com.pk
Pakistan ––The civic authorities on Friday remained on toes as forest fire hit lush green Margalla Hills at two locations rendering the fire-fighters enfeebled to suppress the inferno.
The Capital Development Authority finally had to hire the services of a helicopter from the federal government to spray water on the blazing hilly areas.
The fire hit at the Sanyari village behind the Pak Secretariat and near Trail-III. However, the fire went out of manual control in Trail-III area for what the civic authority had to engage a helicopter.
CDAs Director General Environment Sheikh Suleman told APP that the fire erupted at the hills in the noon and continued burning till evening.
He said the fire in Sanyrai area was suppressed manually and that it only affected the bushes, not the grown trees.
He said the forest over dozens of acres have been gutted in fire, however, exact stretch of the area is yet to be measured after the forest guards and fire-fighting staffers clear the area.
He said during the operation, the staffers remained safe and no untoward incident took place.
The director general said the reason behind the eruption of fire is yet to be ascertained, however, in most of the cases, it happens after the visitors throw a burning cigarette or other burning item in the forest.
He said though a comprehensive strategy to fight hills fire was in place, however, it becomes difficult for the CDA to have constant check on whole National Park Area spread over 12,605 hectares.
He said the whole area has been divided into four ranges where fire check posts have been established and the forest personnel monitor the park areas round-the-clock to cope with any untoward fire incidents.
