964 locations, 40 active spots: All you need to know about Uttarakhand forest fire

Uttarakhand forest fires: The districts of Nainital, Almora, Tehri and Pauri are the worst-hit and the state government is trying everything it can to bring the situation under control.

Forty active fire spots in the forests of Uttarakhand have sent the alarm bells ringing for the state authorities. The districts of Nainital, Almora, Tehri and Pauri are the worst-hit and the state government is trying everything it can to bring the situation under control. The fire broke out at 964 locations, state government officials told news agency PTI.

Tehri: Forest workers engaged in extinguishing the fire in the forests of Tehri district, Sunday, April 4, 2021.(PTI)

Assuring all help possible to state, the Centre on Sunday rushed two helicopters to Uttarakhand to bring the blaze under control. Chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat called an emergency meeting with the state officials to assess the state's preparations and ways to effectively act on the forest fires.

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Here is everything you need to know about the forest fires:

• The fire, which has covered 62 hectares of forest area in Uttarakhand in the last 24 hours, flared up over the past day due to which four people and seven animals have died.
• Two people have been injured in the fire that broke out at 964 locations in the state.
• Since January this year, there have been 983 incidents of forest fire in the state affecting 1,292 hectares of land, officials said.
• Chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat said 12,000 forest department personnel have been deployed and 1300 fire stations have also been set up to stop forest fires.
• One helicopter will be stationed in Gauchar which will collect water from Srinagar and the other will be stationed in Haldwani which will collect water from the Bhimtal lake to extinguish the forest fires.
• Forest department officials have been asked not to take any leave and keep a close watch on the situation, the chief minister said, adding bushes around residential areas are being cleared so that the forest fires do not spread there.
• A major reason for rising forest fire incidents in the state is the paucity of rain during winter. Rainfall during winter was less than normal this year, according to CM Rawat.

-Fire destroyed property worth ₹37 lakh so far, principal chief conservator told PTI.