Udaypur wildfire tamed, but human settlements still at risk
FILE: On April 11, 2016, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite acquired this image of fires burning across Nepal. Red outlines indicate hot spots where VIIRS detected warm surface temperatures associated with the fires. Plumes of smoke dispersed across the country. Image: NASA
UDAYPUR: After relentless firefighting, authorities and locals of Triyuga Municipality have suppressed a wildfire that swept through the Motihai and Tridevi Community Forests for three days.
Forest officials, police personnel and locals joined hands to battle the fire after it began advancing towards nearby villages, District Forest Office Assistant Forest Officer Jageshwor Shah said.
“However, the threat has not passed yet as existing windy conditions can fan small but uncontained flames, again,” Shah said, “ In a bid to avert casualties and destruction of property, locals and authorities are in high alert and monitoring the situation.”
Udaypur witnesses large scale deforestation caused by wildfires each year. As per DFO stats, last year authorities grappled to contain wildfires that swept 5000 hectares of forests and led to timber losses in millions.
With the onset of spring each year, community forests in Udaypur are exposed to fires as winds fan the flames caused by herders, firewood and fodder gatherers, and smugglers, forest officials said.
Meanwhile, the extent of damage caused by the fire that lasted for three days is yet to be ascertained.
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