High temperature, aridity, clear sky and calm winds are the major reasons behind increasing rate of forest fire globally.
Uttarakhand is currently experiencing a severe forest fire crisis, as the flames are escalating in every passing hour. As per recent forest department report: “The fire that broke out in the forest near Nainital district headquarters took a horrific form, posing a threat to the residents of High Court Colony located in the Pines area. In the last 24 hours, 31 new incidents of forest fire were reported from various parts of the state, destroying 33.34 hectares of forest land.”
In this article, we will discuss about essential steps to follow if you are staying near forest area.
“The fire has engulfed an old and vacant house located near The Pines. It has not caused any damage to High Court Colony but it has reached dangerously close to the buildings. Efforts have been made to control the fire since evening,” a resident told to news agency.
This led to traffic congestion in multiple areas.
"We have deployed 40 Manora Range personnel and two forest rangers to extinguish the fire," Nainital Divisional Forest Officer Chandrashekhar Joshi told the news agency. Currently, the Nainital district administration has stopped boating activities in Naini Lake.
Rahul Anand, the executive officer of Nainital Nagar Palika, informed “I carried out an aerial inspection and can confirm IAF choppers have been involved in firefighting operations in the affected forests since this morning.”
Record breaking heatwave often brings fire in different parts of the world. From firefighters to medical team, everyone nearby any forest area must always be ready for unprecedented events. For that, sufficient water and medical equipment must be available. In any emergency in summer, water is a mandatory thing. Immediately inform fire department and tell in detail about the locations. Directly or indirectly, it can impact human health leading to overburdened hospitals. These time-critical situations may have deadly consequences. Thus, medical team must be ready in all hospitals for any emergency. It demands a collaborative response as we cannot fight against forest fire alone.
Necessary Steps: During forest fire, evacuation is the utmost priority. This needs cooperation from community. People should wear shirts with full sleeves and pants. In your house, shut down any natural gas source like cylinder. If you have any flammable furniture, keep them in the centre of your house. The doors and windows must be properly closed. If there is any outside light, keep that on as you need to see the outside amidst heavy smoke.
Immediately after the end of forest fire, do not return home. While removing the burnt elements, you must take precautions like wearing gloves. An important thing must be checking your roof after the rage of fire. If it is damaged, you must plan to repair it immediately.
Awareness is the ultimate thing to fight against forest fire. Be it man-made or due to heatwave, fire spreads very fast. Thus, continuous monitoring and awarding people must be done hourly in villages near forest.
We need to stay alert forest fire is rising globally. As we cannot prevent it immediately, we need to think about reducing the impact.
