CHIKKAMAGALURU: A major fire broke out at Bhagavathi Nature Camp area of Kudremukh National Park on Monday evening and destroyed over 100 acres of forest. The trees in the forest reserve caught fire, which spread rapidly to other regions of the forest. The tragedy took place close on the heels of the devastating fire in Bandipur forest. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
At Kudremukh National Park which is in Mudigere taluk of Chikkamagaluru district, forest fires are common in summer as the national park is situated at a high altitude comprising grasslands and shola forests. The wild fire was first seen in a small patch of Bagavathi forest area which began spreading rapidly engulfing trees, herbs, terrestrial mammals, birds, butterflies and reptiles.
The fire spread so rapidly that within minutes hundreds of acres of forest was charred to ashes. The blowing wind helped the fire spread fast. Senior forest officials, along with the fire fighting staff rushed to the site and tried hard to stop the fire from causing more damage. However, plants and trees were reduced to ashes. Initially, it wasn't easy but operations were on to bring the fire under control.
A forest official informed that the fire is under control.