Mussoorie: Around 0.2-hectare forest has been affected by fire in Uttarkashi forest division and 3.85-hectare forest in Tons Forest division. With this, Uttarkashi has become the first district in Uttarakhand to experience the raging forest fires this year.
Forest fires have become an annual feature and with the change in weather conditions resulting in soaring temperatures in Uttarakhand starts experiencing forest fires from mid-February, when the trees shed dry leaves and the soil loses moisture due to a rise in temperature, and this continues till mid-June.
Forest fires are generally reported from February to June. They usually peak in May and June. Over 90% of forest fires are man-made.
Uttarakhand has a forest area of over 38,000 sq km which constitutes 71% of the total geographical area of the state. More areas under forests with human habitations nearby means more chances of forest fire. Given the diversity of forests in the state, Uttarakhand forests are prone to forest fires.
In Uttarakhand, 0.17% of total forest cover comes under the extremely fire-prone category, 1.6% under very highly fire-prone, 9.32% under highly fire-prone, 21.66% under moderately fire-prone and 67.25% under less fire-prone category.
