DEHRADUN/NAINITAL: A bout of rainfall brought some respite to forest fires blazing in Uttarakhand hills. Since mid-February, the state has lost over 1,300 hectares of green cover in 914 fire incidents, with around 167.6 ha being lost in 104 wildfire incidents on Thursday.
A cumulative loss worth Rs 40 lakh has been recorded so far. In Kumaon, nearly 766 ha forest is affected in 455 fire incidents and losses are estimated at Rs 21.58 lakh while in Garhwal region nearly 430.75 ha is affected in 391 fire incidents causing a loss of Rs 13.32 lakh to the state exchequer. Also, 57 fire incidents in the administration wildlife area affected 103.85 ha of forest cover causing around Rs 10 lakh worth losses.