Forest fires in Himachal, Uttarakhand show signs of abating

Over 7,000 hectares of forest land have been destroyed in blazing fire in the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the situation has now been brought under control. In this picture, a local is trying to douse fire in a firest near the hill station of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh (PTI photo)

Uttarakhand has seen 1,470 incidents of fire so far — 803 (affecting 1,413.58 ha) of which were in the Garhwal region, 463 (1,076.21 ha) in Kumaon, and 204 (695.65 ha) in wildlife zones in the state. In this picture, a massive fire near ISBT in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh (PTI photo)

In Himachal Pradesh, 578 incidents of fire have been reported so far, affecting six districts: Shimla, Solan, Una, Bilaspur, Kangra, Hamirpur and Sirmaur. Most of the Himachal fires are ground fires (PTI photo)

Wildfires are an annual occurrence in Uttarakhand, though they have been bigger and more widespread this year. The fire season usually begins from mid-February and lasts until mid-June, when the rains arrive. In Himachal, the first fire was reported on April 7. In this photo, a wild fire near Shimla, Himachal Pradesh (PTI photo)

Residents of Amola village in Yamkeshwal, Uttarakhand shifting to safer areas after forest fires intensified in the hill state (PTI photo)

A report titled Forest Fire Disaster Management, prepared by the National Institute of Disaster Management, a body under the Ministry of Home Affairs, in 2012, said about half of India’s forests were prone to fires. In this photo, locals trying to douse fires at Kotdwar in Uttarakhand (PTI photo)

An Indian Air Force helicopter collecting water from Koteshwar dam during its operations to douse forest fires in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand (PTI photo)

Personnel belonging to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) trying to douse fire in the forests of Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand (PTI/NDRF)

Around 9,000 men are employed by the Uttarakhand Forest Department in its fire-fighting services. Forest officials say the traditional method of “beating the fire down” with green branches work best. The preliminary losses in Himachal have been estimated at Rs 57 lakh. (PTI photo)