This year, forest fires were reported from almost all districts of Uttarakhand. Fires scorched forests of many districts in both the administrative units in the state — Garhwal and Kumaon. In the Garhwal unit, forest fires were reported from Uttarkashi, Pauri, Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Dehradun. In the Kumaon division, such incidents were recorded in Almora, Bageshwar, Pithoragarh and Udham Singh Nagar. Fires occurred in 11 of the state’s 13 districts. According to the Uttarakhand Forest Department, a total of 11,256 incidents of forest fires were recorded in the state between November 23, 2023 and June 19, 2024.

Cause and effect

Environmental factors contributing to the sudden increase in wildfires include decline in rainy days and rising temperatures. From capital city Dehradun to other districts in both the plains and hills, temperatures crossed 40 degrees Celsius this year. Meteorologists say that the active El Niño this year is one of the reasons for irregular rain and snowfall.

El Niño is the marine phenomenon responsible for changes in ocean temperature and atmospheric conditions in the equatorial region of the tropical Pacific. Due to this change, the sea surface temperature becomes much higher than normal. There’s also a lack of moisture in the upper forest areas which have contributed to the increased cases of forest fires.

According to GCS Negi, Joint Secretary of Nainital-based Central Himalayan Environment Association (CHEA), in the last two decades, the number of forest fire incidents has gone up in Uttarakhand in the winter and summer. Generally, the first fire season in Uttarakhand starts in the month of April and lasts for about 10 weeks, but in the past few years, fire incidents have been reported from November onwards.

Bhim Singh Rawat, associate coordinator of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), says, “Fires are causing major damage to forest biodiversity. Due to the increasing incidents of forest fires, populations of wild animals and insects that are dependent on forests are decreasing. The area of ​​native vegetation is shrinking, while the spread of unwanted and invasive plants is increasing. Natural water resources and forest resources are being adversely affected.”

Forest guards allege lack of pay, proper equipment

During the forest fire season, forest guards are appointed on a daily-wage basis to protect the forests from fires. Several forest guards allege that they are neither provided with adequate equipment to fight fires, nor are they paid on time. “We are appointed at a daily wage of Rs. 380 for 26 days (except Sundays) during the fire season,” says Nanda Ballabh Pant, who has been serving as a forest fire observer since 1985.

There are many forest fire guards in the Binsar area of ​​Almora who have not been paid for their service since 2022. For example, Suresh Ram, 45, worked as a forest fire guard for two years but his bank passbook does not show the amount paid for his service during 2022 and 2023. Similarly, Ravindra Singh, a resident of Bhetuli village, is also waiting for his salary from the department.

Suresh Ram refused to work this year. “This year, I opted out. Seventeen-year-old Krishna Kumar from my village was selected, but he lost his life due to lack of training and experience,” he said.

Last month, four workers who had gone to extinguish a forest fire in Binsar succumbed to burns. Krishna Kumar suffered serious burn injuries. He died during treatment at AIIMS, Delhi. A total of six employees lost their lives in the incident. Now, there are fingers pointed at the forest department for appointing a minor.

Apart from the payment of dues, those appointed as fire guards are also battling many other challenges, including a lack of equipment and training. “We don’t have any working hours and we have to walk long distances to contain forest fires. Often, such incidents are reported from areas that lack basic facilities like drinking water or food. We don’t even have proper fire boots or a phone to contact people in case of an emergency. Be it early in the morning or middle of the night, we have to be ready at all hours. As soon as we get information about the fire, we immediately rush to the site,” says Suresh Ram.

Nanda Vallabh Joshi, 56, a resident of Risal village, is currently a seasonal fire observer with the forest department. Joshi and one member each from six families living in his village have been working as fire extinguishers for many generations. Joshi also complains about the lack of equipment, “It has happened several times that we have gone out at night to extinguish the fire with the help of mobile torches. The department does not even provide us with torches; forget about safety gear, masks and other modern fire-fighting equipment.”

Read more: [Explainer] The good, the bad, and the ugly side of forest fires

The need to monitor burnt forest sites

Reenu Paul is a Dehradun-based environmental activist who has filed several PILs on issues of water, forest, and landuse. According to her, increasing incidents of forest fires in the last few years are the major reason for deforestation.

She adds that the cases of burning and clearing parts of forests near proposed government projects and main roads are coming under the spotlight at many places in Uttarakhand. After clearing the forest, efforts are being made to change the land use of those parts from forest to agriculture or commercial activities. Although land use change is prohibited in protected areas, several examples of unchecked land use pattern change have been reported in Uttarakhand.

“To stop this illegal practice of land use change, there should be continuous monitoring of burnt forest areas and laws should prohibit regularisation of such development for at least 10 to 20 years,” says Paul.

Preventing forest fires

While many suggestions are provided for the prevention of forest fires, it’s also pertinent to make adequate preparations before the start of fire season, devise ways for timely detection of fire and deploy adequate human resources to extinguish it, the people say. However, public participation is also crucial.

Devi Prasad Thapliyal, the sarpanch of van panchayat Marora in Rudraprayag district says, “It is difficult to control the increasing incidents of forest fires without public participation because local people know these forests inside out. Until 2016, forest panchayats and communities worked with department officials to plan ahead of the season and allocate funds for the management of fire lines. But now the role of van panchayats has become very limited.”

Thapliyal adds, “Unless the community becomes active, the forests will continue to burn. Since 2011, the Forest Department has been conducting seminars in schools and training women associated with the Mahila Mangal Dal, but the newly appointed officers do not have much information about the forests. To prevent forest fires, there is a need to be ready before the fire season. The increasing incidents of forest fire can be controlled by providing appropriate equipment, training and resources to the forest staff.”

Emphasising on better management of pine forests and pine leaves (pirul), Negi says, “If pine leaves that fall from spring to summer are collected from vulnerable areas across villages, small-scale industries can be developed. This will provide employment to the locals and help in containing incidents of forest fires.”

Ishwari Dutt Joshi, the convenor of Uttarakhand Resource Panchayat Organisation, suggests that the forest department should give money for the maintenance of the ‘beats’ created during the British era and new beats should be developed.

This story was reported by Mongabay’s Hindi team and first published here on our Hindi site on July 3, 2024.

Banner image: Apart from the payment of dues, those appointed as fire guards are also battling many other challenges, including a lack of equipment and training. Image by Suresh Ram.

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Priyanka Shankar Editor

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Forest FiresForestsIndiaUttarakhand

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