Forest officials across the State are on high alert as the scorching summer heat has begun to trigger fires at many places. In the Palakkad forest division alone, seven fires were reported in recent weeks in spite of enhanced preparedness against wildfires.
Most forest divisions and wildlife sanctuaries in the State have taken preventive measures against wildfires, 99% of which are believed to be human-made. When an ecologically rich and sensitive sanctuary such as the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve is trying to guard itself by adopting fire-belts, forest divisions such as Palakkad with large open areas have adopted early burning or controlled burning methods to protect the forests and its invaluable assets.
“We are on full alert. We have appointed 60 watchers exclusively to prevent forest fires. We are trying to create awareness among the people, especially the tribespeople, who depend largely on forests and the MFP (minor forest produce),” says Sreenivas Kurra, Palakkad Divisional Forest Officer.
About 200 ha were burnt down in Palakkad as part of preventive measures against summer fires. Forest authorities have been laying special focus on the Walayar area considering its sensitivity. Early burning was done along the sides of the railway tracks in Walayar.
In an open forest division such as Palakkad, making a fire-line or fire-belt or fire-break is not feasible. “It’s not only impractical but costly as well,” says Mr. Kurra. “It’s not dense. So early burning or controlled burning is the best option we could adopt.”
Apart from early burning, the forest division has cleaned up several waterbodies inside the woods and also erected temporary surveillance towers. “Regular surveillance from those towers will help us detect any fires in time,” says Mr. Kurra.
In the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, fire-line or fire-break was done along 120 ha of forestland bordering Tamil Nadu and other divisions such as Nenmara and Peechi. Several watchers were appointed at Parambikulam in view of potential forest fires.
A fire that spread from Tamil Nadu forests around this time five years ago had endangered the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve as it engulfed more than 50 ha within two days. Choppers had to be pressed into service to fight the fire in 2017, but it was an unexpected rain that saved much of the sensitive wildlife sanctuary from the blaze.
