Manipur government on Saturday said the wildfire at Dzukou Valley, a picturesque trekking spot on Nagaland-Manipur borders already reduced over 200 acres of forests to ashes on its side while Indian Air Force (IAF) choppers and NDRF personnel continued their efforts to control the blaze.
The wildfire broke out on Tuesday on the Nagaland side at Dzukou, situated atop 2452-meter and it started spreading towards Manipur the next day. The intense fire could be seen from Nagaland capital Kohima, situated about 30km away.
Firefighters of Manipur managed to control the wildfire at eastern side spreading from Mount Khungho towards Mao but it could not be controlled at the southern side. This forced Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh to seek help of union home minister Amit Shah.
Four helicopters equipped with bambi buckets and 59 personnel of NDRF launched a joint operation on Saturday morning and carried out several sorties till evening.
Spokesperson of eastern air command of IAF at Shillong, Meghalaya, Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh said one Mi-17 V5 helicopter was first deployed on Friday and three more choppers were pressed into service on Saturday.
A C-130J Hercules aircraft of the IAF airlifted a 9-ton load for the fire fighting personnel including 48 NDRF personnel from Guwahati to Dimapur on Friday night, Biren Singh said. Apart from the NDRF, 35 personnel of Manipur State Disaster Response Force, 32 personnel of Manipur Fire Service and Manipur police personnel continued their efforts to prevent the spread of the fire to the southern side of Mount Iso (Tenipu) range, he said.
Dzukou valley is a popular tourist spot and is mostly famous for its seasonal flowers and biodiversity. Thousands of tourists trek to the valley to view the pink and purple flowers on the hills that also house endangered tragopans, Nagaland's state bird and animals.