Major Fire Breaks Out In Odisha’s Similipal Reserve Forest

Bhubaneswar/Baripada: A few days after PCCF stated that Odisha is likely to witness more incidents of wildfire this summer, a major fire spread in Similipal Reserve Forest in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district on Tuesday.

According to sources, the forest fire in the Reserve was first spotted near Manikpur and Anantapur under Udala forest division in the district on Monday. By Tuesday morning, the fire had spread to a large area. The blaze, which was reportedly spreading at a fast pace, had already engulfed around 1 km area, they said.

Though the cause of the fire has not been ascertained, it is suspected to have been started by the poachers. Several precious trees, herbs and animals have reportedly perished in the fire.

On February 6, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Debidutta Biswal had said the state is likely to witness more incident of forest fire in view of the prevalent weather conditions this year. “Already the incidents of wildfire have been reported from around 200 places in the state since January. If the state does not receive rainfall in next two months, the situation may worsen,” he said.

On February 4, a fire starting from the reserve forest at Anantpur under Kamakshyanagar Western range in Dhenkanal district had spread to nearby farmland of 2 villages.

It may be noted that the Forest Survey of India (FSI) had reported about 578 incidents of forest fire in the state between February 1 and 8.