BENGALURU: A day after a massive fire gutted 318 cars at a parking lot near the Air Force Station in Yelahanka, Bengaluru witnessed at least three massive fires erupting around its periphery. The dry weather and intense heat is being blamed by forest experts, and fire officials have cautioned that such incidents may only rise in the days to come.
Channohalli village in Dobbespet in Bengaluru Rural district, about 40km from the city, saw 12 to 15 acres of eucalyptus groves being destroyed in a fire. It started in farms belonging to Channohalli residents Hanumantharayappa, Vishwanath, Goivindaraju, Mangalagauramma, Narayanappa and Muniyappa. According to reports, the damage is estimated to be worth in lakhs. Meanwhile, farmers allege that several groups of youth from Bengaluru visit areas around Dobbespet on weekends and carelessly throw lit cigarette butts. One such incident may have caused the fire, they said.
In Turahalli Forest off Kanakapura Road, a major forest fire erupted on a half-acre forest land at around 2.45pm. The fire department rushed two fire tenders to douse the blaze, which was extinguished after 45 minutes. Thalaghattapura police said they have opened a case to ascertain the cause of the fire.
Similarly, Jarakabande State Forest near MS Palya (near Jalahalli) witnessed a fire which ravaged four acres of forest land. While the fire started at 3.40 pm, fire officials said no alert calls were received to report the fire. However, fire personnel rushed two fire tenders after watching the blaze on the television, and doused it 4.30pm. Besides these, minor fires were reported in and around Bengaluru which included
grass fires as well as garbage fires.