Karnataka officials hope worst forest fires over with pre-monsoon showers on the horizon

Bengaluru: Having fought 3,300 fires in the first two months of the year due to record temperatures, forest officials are hoping the worst is over.

This year’s numbers may have been less compared to last year’s 3,721 forest fire incidents, thanks to the homegrown fire tracking suite to tackle such fires, but forests have become vulnerable since this February has been declared the hottest in 125 years.

Officials are on high alert for two more months before the pre-monsoon showers.

Besides providing accurate information, the fire tracker, developed by Karnataka State Remote Sensing Applications Centre (KSRSAC), will also prompt senior officers to follow up by escalating the alert level if the fires have not been doused in 24 hours.

Geofencing of the state’s forests has made alerts accurate. 

Only fires within the 500-metre buffer zone of the forest boundary are flagged to the field officers, including the Range Forest Officer (RFO) and Deputy RFO. Staffers have been instructed to give feedback on dousing the fire. Any delay beyond 24 hours will escalate the alert level to “critical” enabling senior officials to manage the issue.

After the 2019 mega fires in Bandipur, which a departmental inquiry blamed on dereliction of duty and corruption, the state managed forest fires much better. The election year of 2023 proved to be worst, with fire incidents reaching 6,888, above the average of 3,500.

Another challenge 

In addition to staff shortages and high temperatures this year, the Forest Department faces another challenge: limited support from the Fire and Emergency Department.

While fire tenders are effective in accessible plains, the department is unable to operate 75% of its fleet due to restrictions on using vehicles older than 15 years.

Most fire incidents are reported from the agricultural lands in the 500-metre forest buffer zones or controlled burns meant to create fire lines. Of the 5,748 incidents recorded this year, nearly 3,000 were from buffer areas.

An official clarified that most fires in recent years have involved undergrowth without harming trees, but each incident has been taken seriously.

Forest Minister Eshwar B Khandre slammed the Centre for withholding funds sanctioned in the plan of action. The Centre has released Rs 2 crore out of the Rs 4 crore it sanctioned. The state has released Rs 10 crore.