jaipur:
Firefighting operations in the Sariska Tiger Reserve resumed Wednesday morning using two Indian Air Force helicopters, emergency response personnel and local people to contain the flames.
A forest official said the situation, which has been developing since Sunday, is now “almost under control” in areas with thick, easy-to-burn dry grass. But in the morning the flames still raged over a four or three square kilometer stretch.
At one point, however, the forest fire had spread over 10 square kilometers.
“The fire did not spread much last night and is under control by more than 50 percent compared to yesterday,” an official said Wednesday.
He said the flames are now seen in an area with less dry grass. “We therefore expect that it will not take much time now to get the fire under complete control,” he said.
Four adult tigers and five cubs move around the area where the fire broke out. But officials said no tiger is trapped in the area. The reserve in Alwar district has 27 tigers.
The official said the entire forest area scorched by the wildfire will be assessed once the flames have been extinguished.
The fire started on Sunday evening and was brought under control Monday. But the same evening it flared up again and continued through Tuesday, spreading to an area of more than 10 square kilometers at one time of the day.
“Right now the fire is in an area of about four or five square kilometers and helicopters are carrying water from nearby Silisedh Lake to spray over it,” the official said.
Two teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed, along with forest department personnel, wildlife guides and local people. In total, about 200 people are involved in the firefighting.
State Forestry had previously asked people in neighboring villages not to enter the forest area.