• The firefighting operation in Uttarakhand’s forests with the help of an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter continued on April 28 with the blaze being brought under control in several areas.

• Since November 1, 2023, Uttarakhand has so far recorded 606 forest fires in which 735.815 hectares of forest land were gutted.

• Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami attributed the recent spike in forest fire incidents in Kumaon to increased dryness due to heatwave in the lower areas of Champawat and Nainital districts of Uttarakhand bordering Nepal.

• People are being asked to report any forest blaze immediately to the authorities and not to burn garbage in the open or carelessly throw burning cigarette butts or bidis in the forest areas.

• People are also being asked to report to the authorities if they catch someone setting a fire in the forests.

• Burning forests in order to obtain fresh grass for their cattle is a widely prevalent practice in the hills of Uttarakhand.

Forest fires in India

• Forest fires cause large scale destruction of forest resources and biodiversity in the country every year. One forest fire incident may nullify all efforts of conservation and plantations done in the past several years. 

• In India, forest fire is a serious problem in the hilly states, especially in summers. 

• A recent analysis done by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), shows that nearly 36 per cent of the country’s forests are prone to fires and of this, over 10 per cent are highly fire prone. Most of the fire prone forest areas are found in the northeastern region and the central part of the country.

• It has been estimated that annual loss from forest fires in the country is more than Rs 550 crore. 

• Also, there are many intangible losses such as loss of biodiversity, ozone layer depletion, loss of habitat for wildlife, soil erosion, etc.

• The number of incidences of forest fire in the country varies from year to year depending on various natural and anthropogenic reasons. 

• Forest fires do occur every year during summer due to various natural and anthropogenic reasons including accumulation of inflammable materials such as dry leaves, twigs, pine needles. etc. 

• Most of the forest fires in the country are ground fires in which ground vegetation, etc get burnt. 

Types of forest fires

Forest fires are generally of three types.

1) Surface fire: It is a very fast moving fire, which consumes small vegetation and surface litter along with loose debris. This type of forest fires are mostly common in India.

2) Crown fire: It advances from top to top of trees or shrubs without any close link with surface fire. It is the fastest way of spreading fire and most destructive for trees as well as wildlife. It is rarely observed in India.

3) Ground fire: A true ground fire is not easily predictable as it spreads within, rather than top of organic matter. It consumes organic matter like duff, musk or peat present beneath the surface litter of the forest floor. It has the unique characteristic of having a smouldering edge with no flame and little smoke. Ground fires are most hard to tackle. 

Tackling forest fires

• Forest fires in India are largely of anthropogenic origin and therefore preventable to a large extent. 

• Apart from public awareness and their participation in controlling forest fires, use of all the technological options for prevention, detection, early warning, firefighting and damage assessment should be employed under a scientifically prepared forest fire management plan for each district or forest division. 

• Forest Survey of India (FSI), generate and disseminates satellite based information, which is ‘weekly early-warning alerts’ of forest fire and also ‘Large Forest Fire Monitoring’ alerts, to the field forest officials who are registered with FSI. 

• These fire alerts aim at improving tactical and strategic response to large forest fires by the respective states/UTs administrations. Currently, the number of registered users is around 2.14 lakh across the country. 

• Further, Van Agni Geoportal is an app developed by FSI that monitors large forest fires in various states/UTs throughout the fire season and accordingly alerts state forest departments.

• Geospatial technological tools and techniques have been very effectively used in forest fire management around the world in the last couple of decades. 

• FSI also took an early initiative in using geospatial technology in forest fire applications in the country. First ever burnt area mapping at the national level using satellite data was undertaken during 1995-97. Near real time forest fire detection and dissemination of alerts was started in 2004.

• FSI has been alerting State Forest Departments of forest fire locations detected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) sensor onboard Aqua and Terra Satellites of NASA since 2004.

• Modern technological tools, particularly geospatial technologies, hold great promise in forest fire monitoring and control in the country. 

• The FSI Forest Fire Alerts System (FAST) has undergone periodic changes to facilitate not only foresters but also common people in a better way. The upgraded version of the Forest Fire Alert System version 3.0 (FAST 3.0) was released in 2019. 

National Action Plan on Forest Fires

• Recognising the need to revamp forest fire management in the country, the ministry of environment, forest and climate change has come up with the National Action Plan on Forest Fires, 2018.

• One of the main objectives of the action plan is to reduce the incidences of fires by informing, enabling and empowering forest fringe communities and incentivising them to work in tandem with the State Forest Departments (SFDs).

• The plan also aims to reduce the vulnerability of forests against fire hazards across the diverse forest ecosystems in the country, enhancing the capabilities of institutions in fighting fires, and accelerating the recovery after a fire incidence. 

Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme

• The responsibility of forest fire prevention and management lies primarily with the respective states/UTs. 

• The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change supports the efforts of states/UTs in prevention and control of forest fire by providing financial assistance for various forest fire prevention and management measures such as modern tools for fire extinguishing, use of communication and information technology, creation and maintenance of fire lines in forest areas, engagement of fire watchers, creation of water storage structures in forest areas, strengthening of forest infrastructure, procurement of firefighting equipment, soil and moisture conservation works in high risk areas, awareness creation, incentivising villages/communities for protection against forest fire, etc under the centrally sponsored Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme. 

Objectives of the scheme are:

i) Minimise forest fire incidence and assist in restoring productivity of forests in affected areas.

ii) Institutionalise the partnership with forest fringe communities for forest protection.

iii) Contribute to the larger goal of maintaining environmental stability.

iv) Prepare fire danger rating system and devise forest fire forecasting system.

v) Encourage the states/UTs for optimal use of modern technology, such as remote sensing, GPS and geographic information system (GIS) in planning, developing and operationalising fire prevention and management systems. 

vi) Develop knowledge on impacts and dynamics of forest fire, etc.

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