A fire has been burning for five days near the Valley of Flowers, a UNESCO site in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district within Nanda Devi National Park. Inaccessible due to high altitude, the Forest Department has called on the Indian Air Force for assistance. Low rainfall and dry conditions are fueling the blaze.
In Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, a fire has been raging in the mountainous area of Nanda Devi National Park at an altitude of 3,500-4,200 meters, between the Lakshman Ganga and Alaknanda rivers near the Valley of Flowers. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has been affected for five days, prompting the Forest Department to seek Indian Air Force help due to the terrain's inaccessibility.
Range Officer Chetna Kandpal stated, 'The fire has been raging for five days, and the Forest Department staff have not been able to reach the spot to initiate dousing. The area is inaccessible on foot due to its altitude and elevation. Our personnel attempted to climb the mountain, but the risk of falling boulders and shooting stones forced them to call it off. The DM has written to the secretariat for assistance from agencies, including the IAF.'
The fire's origin is unknown, but low rainfall, dry deciduous trees, accumulated leaf litter, and humidity levels of 20-25% are sustaining it. Kandpal added, 'These mountains have deciduous trees, they are dry and shed leaves earlier. The heavy leaf litter has become fuel for the fire. The mountains regularly receive snowfall, but this year, there has not been enough precipitation to control the fire.'
An aerial survey is planned for Wednesday to assess the burnt area and devise firefighting strategies. Kandpal noted, 'We had sought helicopters to douse the fire, but a preliminary survey will be conducted first.' The nearest human settlement across the river remains unaffected.
On Tuesday, the range team patrolled the hilly areas between the rivers and spotted smoke from old stumps but could not access the site due to steep rock faces. Sushant Patnaik, in charge of Forest Fire and Disaster Management, said, 'The fire was detected on the evening of January 9 through an FSI alert. It is in an inaccessible spot with no approach road. Forest personnel and State Disaster Response Force have been deployed but could not reach. We decided to conduct a survey today but couldn't due to inclement weather. We will carry out a recce on Wednesday and seek assistance from the Centre.'
Forest fires are annual in Uttarakhand. The FSI's 2023 report noted 1,808 sq km burnt area and 21,033 detections by SNPP-VIIRS satellite. The state's 53,483 sq km includes 2,021 sq km at very high fire risk, 7,185 sq km high, and 9,293 sq km moderate. In June 2024, six personnel died fighting a fire in Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary. Winter fires often stem from crop residue burning and controlled fire lines. On Tuesday, the state recorded 33 fire alerts.
