In the middle of winter, Bandipur is bracing for a torrid summer in the months ahead so as to deal with the spectre of forest fires to which the famous tiger reserve is susceptible.
The cold weather is the best time to draw the fire lines and clear vegetation through controlled burning, which is the first line of defence in preventing a major forest fire from spreading.
Fire lines are spaces bereft of vegetation that is removed through controlled burning during winter. The aim is to segregate the forest into small blocks. Even if a fire breaks out, the idea is to contain it to one block.
