More than 300 hectares of forest cover has been gutted in Uttarakhand so far in the present fire season. State Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal said on Tuesday that most forest fire incidents occurred in the Garhwal region rather than the Kumaon region.
Sharing the information, the forest minister said that 394 forest fire incidents have occurred in the state so far, consuming nearly 331.12 hectares of forest area. Efforts are underway to scientifically control the raging fire with public participation.
“The fire incidents in Uttarakhand forests primarily occurred in six districts: Almora, Pauri, Tehri, Uttarkashi, Nainital, and Pithoragarh. However, the state ranks 14th in the country in fire incidents. Majority of the incidents occurred in Garhwal with far fewer in the Kumaon region,” he added.
The minister informed that over the past ten years 14,638 forest fire incidents affecting 23,682.77 hectares of forest area have occurred in Uttarakhand. This resulted in 35 human casualties and 76 injuries in the same period. Around 394 forest fire incidents covering 331.12 hectares of area have taken place in 2026 alone.
Uniyal said the government’s goal is to reduce response time and establish effective control over forest fires through public participation. He claimed active participation of Van Panchayats, village-level committees, and more than 5000 fire watchers are being applied to douse and control wildfires in the state.
The minister said that the state recorded an all-time low in forest fire incidents during the 2020 COVID-19 period, which the department will study to keep them under check in future.
CCF Forest Fire and Disaster Management Sushant Patnaik informed that 1,438 crew stations, 40 master control rooms, 174 watch towers and modern communication equipment have been activated to control forest fires in the state. An agreement has also been signed with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for special forest fire forecasting, said Patnaik.