Uttarakhand: Forest Fire in Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, Almora

On June 13th, 2024, four staff members of the Uttarakhand forest department died and four others were injured when their team was caught in a raging forest fire in the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary in Almora district.

Key Points

Uttarakhand has reported 1,213 forest fire incidents after 1^st November 2023 till 13^th June 2024 evening as compared to 663 incidents reported during the corresponding period in 2023.
Of 1653 hectares of forest land damaged in forest fires in 2024, 687 hectares have been damaged in Garhwal region, 833 hectares in Kumaon region and 132 hectares in wildlife administrative regions.
Four reasons that can cause a forest fire have been mentioned by the forest department. These include deliberate fires by locals, carelessness, farming-related activities, and natural reasons.
As per Government report states that locals in Uttarakhand deliberately set forests on fire for good quality of grass, poaching, to cover up illegal deforestation, and more.
The report also states that the friction of electricity cables with dry leaves can be a cause for wildfires.