Three workers die in Almora forest fire

These are the first reported deaths in forest fires in the state that has seen at least 868 such fires, affecting 1,086 hectares of area, since November last, according to state forest department data.

Man-Made Forest Fires Ravage Uttarakhand

Flames rise during a forest fire near Saterakhal village, in Rudraprayag district. (PTI)

Three persons died and another suffered serious burns in a forest fire incident in Uttarakhand’s Almora district, police said Friday.

These are the first reported deaths in forest fires in the state that has seen at least 868 such fires, affecting 1,086 hectares of area, since November last, according to state forest department data. The police and the state forest department have registered 350 FIRs and arrested 60 people so far.

Last week, an IAF helicopter, Army personnel, Prantiya Rakshak Dal volunteers and homeguard personnel were roped in to help after a massive forest fire erupted and came close to a residential colony in Nainital.

State officials said that fires in the forests of Nainital and Pauri Garhwal districts were mostly man-made.

The Almora fire has now been doused and the forest authorities are investigating what caused it, police said.

The three persons died as the fire was getting close to a pine resin factory in Almora. While one of them died on the spot Thursday, two others, including a woman, succumbed at a hospital on Friday.

Almora Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Deepak Singh said the three victims are yet to be identified but “they are of Nepali origin and have been employed here for the last 3-4 years”.

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Some man-made causes apart, experts have highlighted key factors, some of them natural, contributing to the surge in forest fires in Uttarakhand.

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