BHUBANESWAR: Around 2,165 hectares of area has already been affected by forest fire this season, even as a gradual uptick in the such incidents has made Odisha the second-most wildfire-hit state in the country this week.
A report by the Forest department revealed detection of around 9,300 wildfire points across the state from January 1, the day when the forest fire season commenced, and March 8. These include 6,177 fire points inside forest boundaries and 3,123 outside forest boundaries.
The fire points have been detected across all circles, with Koraput and Bhawanipatna remaining the most vulnerable. Around 580 hectare area in Nabarangpur division of Koraput circle and another 401 hectare of Khariar division in Bhawanipatna have already been affected by forest fire this season. Both the divisions have reported more than 1,000 instances of wildfire so far.
Similarly, the Sunabeda wildlife division in Bhawanipatna circle, where a proposal of tiger reserve is long pending, has also recorded over 500 fire points that have affected around 159 hectare land of the protected area.
The Forest Survey of India (FSI) data has also revealed that currently, the state is in the grip of 16 large forest fires, mostly in Koraput circle. At least half of these have been active for more than five days.
The FSI statistics also revealed that the state that earlier stood fourth in the country, in terms of number of forest fire incidents in a week, has now moved to second position due to a spike in incidents since March 2. Between March 2 and 8, the state has recorded 2,329 incidents of forest fire, suggested the FSI data.
With more that three and half months of the fire season left and heat yet to reach its peak, the surge in incidents has emerged a concern for the forest and wildlife officials.
A senior forest official from Koraput circle, however, said most of the major incidents in the region have been detected outside forest boundaries, largely due to burning activities in crop fields. The response rate to the forest fire incidents has also remained 99.88 per cent and forest field staff have intensified patrolling to deal with the menace effectively.
In 2024 the state had reported 17,014 forest fires and the total area affected was 4,067 hectare.
ALARMING SCENARIO
Koraput and Bhawanipatna most vulnerable to forest fires
Nabarangpur division in Koraput circle, Khariar division in Bhawanipatna have reported over 1,000 wildfires so far
Odisha is in the grip of 16 large forest fires, mostly in Koraput circle
Between March 2 and 8, the state has recorded 2,329 cases of forest fire