BENGALURU: Incidents of forest fires in Karnataka this year were less when compared to the previous year, but not in intensity. This was because of the unprecedented summer heat and the rise in temperature.
According to the Karnataka Forest Department, 20,933 incidents of forest fires were detected by satellite sensors from 2020 to 2024. Of this, 6,888 were recorded in 2023 and 4,245 until April this year. Officials said that forest fires saw a decline from April 16.
During the period between the end of April and the beginning of May, 33 incidents of fire were reported from Belagavi, Tumakuru, Ballari, Chitradurga, and Chikkaballapura districts. A senior forest department official said, “Compared to last year, the number of forest fires is less this year. However, most cases happened in February and March.
Last year, the forests lost a lot of inflammable material, like dry grass and other items. This year, this was less. If one closely examines it, there is a trend and a cycle. In 2018–19, there was Bandipur forest fire. Then there were incidents of large forest fires last year. This year, incidents of forest fire were reported in patches, but the intensity in terms of heat and the time taken to douse the flames was high because of the high summer heat and the temperature.”
The official added that more work was done on the ground to create fire lines and make other preparations. Patrolling was also intense, and thus the number of incidents was lower inside forest areas but higher on the fringes and outside the forest boundaries.
However, conservationists are not convinced. They said that the department was not revealing accurate data. “There have been so many forest fire incidents across the state. It also took days to douse the flames and bring the situation under control. The department should make the data public, along with a detailed report of each fire. A thorough third-party investigation is needed,” said a conservationist.