It took 300 men, drawn from various departments including Fire, Police, CISF and Endowment, to work non-stop with water and foam to douse the forest fire that erupted on the slopes of Simhachalam Hill, on Sunday.
What made the task a Herculean one, was that the fire was on the forested area of the hill slopes and was not easily accessible, and it was spread over a vast area. The fire fighters were supported by about seven fire engines drawn from various sources such as the fire stations from Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram and NTPC.
“After fighting it for over 16 hours, we were able to bring it under control. Our men climbed the hill with heavy hoses and we had to spray both water and foam from different locations to douse the fire,” said District Fire Officer BVS Ram Prakash. This was the third major forest fire in the city and the second one on the Simhachalam Hill this year, and all because of minor human negligence. All the three forest fires were not natural fires but man made ones, said the DFO.
Devastating effect
Simple human negligence can cause forest fires that can have devastating effect and can degrade the flora and fauna and biodiversity in the region, said EUB Reddi, senior professor from the Department of Environment Sciences, Andhra University.
According to Mr. Ram Prakash most of the man made forest fires are triggered due to human negligence such as throwing of cigarette butts and not properly dousing a camp fire or cooking fire by the picnickers.
“In these areas, there are many illegal charcoal manufacturers who burn forest wood to convert them into charcoal and many a time they light the fire with that intention and then it goes out of control. Cashew growers also light fire to burn the nuts and they do not extinguish them properly,” said the DFO.
Due to a prolonged dry spell, the hill slopes are littered with dry leaves, twigs and dry wood, and a minor fire can expand rapidly due to the strong breeze.
At least 30 to 40 acres have been destroyed and biodiversity in the region is also affected.
According to Prof. Reddi, natural forest fire is generally caused by lightning and such fires are good for regeneration of biodiversity. “Such fires normally burn a small area, which we call as vacant niche or empty niche.But man made forest fires are destructive and biodiversity is affected,” said Prof. Reddi.
