BHUBANESWAR: As the temperature continues to hover over 40 degree Celsius for the last one week in the State, forest fires have flared up again. This time, wildfires have been reported in parts of Chandaka-Dampara sanctuary on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.A team of Chandaka forest division along with CRPF and fire service personnel brought the raging fire under control in the Chandaka beat near Jhumka dam on Saturday noon.
DFO Md Jameel said the exact cause of the fire is not known. It has spread within one km radius of the sanctuary area. A forest team has been engaged to keep an eye on the situation and ensure that fire does not spread inside the sanctuary. Apart from Chandaka, wildfire incidents were reported from 10 other places in the State including Khandapada in Bhubaneswar circle, Laxmipur in Koraput circle, Sukinda and Narasinghpur East in Angul circle and BJP in Rourkela circle.
The number of large fire incidents detected in the State was the third-highest on the day after Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. The soaring temperature in the last one week has only worsened the situation in the State as it has reported around 1,774 fire points during the period from April 17 to 23. As per the Forest Survey of India (FSI) statistics, the State now stands at fourth place in terms of large wildfire incidents reported in the last one week, while it continues at the third spot among top five states in terms of large forest fire incidents this season.
Out of 17,912 fire points detected in the State so far this season, the highest 5,323 have been detected in the forests of Koraput circle, while the lowest 167 are in Bhubaneswar circle.PCCF and HoFF Sisir Kumar Ratho said most of these forest fires are caused by humans besides, leaf shedding and subsequent dry spell in most parts of the State. “Shedding of leaves and flowering has been delayed this year, while there has been no major thunderstorm activities in the recent weeks,” Ratho said. He, however, said that in nearly 87 per cent cases, the fire incidents have been attended by the forest teams immediately. Besides, he said the forest fires have been controlled to a large extent this year with involvement of local administrations.