A look at India’s worst cases of forest fires – Firstpost

Uttarakhand’s Nainital is reeling under a massive forest fire, the worst the hilly town has seen in years. Fire has engulfed almost 34 acres of forest land since Friday, prompting assistance from the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Army to help douse the blaze.

Agencies from both central and state have come together to control the forest fire that reached Nainital’s High Court Colony on Saturday.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “The forest fires are a challenge for us. This is a big fire. We are working for all the essential needs. We have asked for help from the Army,” adding that he will hold a high-level meeting to assess the situation.

India is not new to forest fires. The Nainital forest fire brings back memories of some of the worst wildfires the country has seen in recent times. Here’s a look:

2. Arunachal Pradesh: While the Nainital forest fire might be the biggest one so far this year, 2024 saw another case of wildfire in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh where fire broke out in the West Kameng district in February. Meanwhile, in 2023, Arunachal Pradesh recorded over 95 forest fires

3. Odisha: India may be prone to forest fires for a multitude of reasons, but Odisha is responsible for almost half of it. In March 2023 alone, the state witnessed 96 major fires in jungles. From 2022 to 2023, Odisha recorded 871 large forest fires

4. Goa: Another renowned tourist destination, Goa saw one of its worst forest fires in 2023 when 348 hectares of land were burned to the ground, leading to a substantial loss of flora and fauna

5. Karnataka: In 2019, Karnataka’s Bandipur forests were consumed by wildfire leading to the destruction of a whopping 3,000 hectares of land. The fires reportedly killed hundreds of wild animals, reptiles and insects

6. Uttarakhand: The hilly state of Uttarakhand is familiar with wildfires as the region is vulnerable to conflagrations. Last year, forest fires in parts of the Pithoragarh district caused substantial damage to forest wealth and natural vegetation. However, the most destructive forest fires in Uttarakhand were recorded in 2016 which were blamed on heatwave and subsequent dry spell