A massive wildfire broke out in a forest in Uttarakhand's Nainital District, destroying about 600 hectares of the forest area and tonnes of timber.
With the gust of strong winds, the fire soon spread across the jungle, damaging acres of vegetation. Locals said the nearby villages and houses had a narrow escape and they themselves had initiated to douse the flames as the fire and forest department officials arrived late.
"The fire has been burning the jungle for the past three-four hours. Over four kilometers of the jungle has been reduced to ashes due to this. The nearby households had a narrow escape. Villagers first tried to extinguish the flames as the fire tenders and officials came late. For the past two hours they are trying to bring the situation under control," said a resident, Harish.
The team of forest department officials had to face the fury of locals when they arrived at the spot three hours late.
The residents also alleged the officials came without sufficient equipment. After struggling for nearly five hours, the fire came under control. Hundreds of large trees and lush fields were scorched by the fire.
Divisional forest officer, Parag Madhukar, said increased temperature contributed in breaking out of the wildfire.
"The temperature has increased alarmingly for the past couple of days in this summer. As a result, there is less humidity in the air. The weather has become vulnerable for such wildfires. The fire broke out in the afternoon and a vast part of the jungle has been affected. The fire was controlled by the staff of forest department and fire crew members," said Madhukar.
The local police station showed readiness in bringing the situation under control by joining the forest and fire department officials.
