A fire broke out at an altitude of 3,500 meters in Nanda Devi National Park, hoping for heavenly help.

News Topical, Digital Desk : A forest fire has been raging for the past five days in the Valley of Flowers range within the Nanda Devi National Park in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand. The fire, which broke out on January 9th on a hill overlooking Pulna-Bhyundar, remains uncontained. Due to the difficult terrain and high altitude, forest department ground teams are unable to reach the site, leading to a worsening situation.

Fire breaks out in a valley at an altitude of more than 3500 meters

The area where the fire broke out, within the Valley of Flowers range, is located at an altitude of over 3,500 meters. Rocky slopes, frost, and dense fog have posed major obstacles to relief operations. Meanwhile, the forest has become completely dry due to the prolonged absence of rain and snowfall, making it likely that the fire will spread rapidly. According to satellite images, approximately 15 hectares of forest area has been engulfed by the fire.

The Forest Department made several ground-level efforts to extinguish the fire, but were unsuccessful due to the difficult terrain. Given the severity of the situation, the Forest Department requested the district administration to use helicopters to extinguish the fire on Monday. District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar immediately informed the government, following which a helicopter survey of the affected area was conducted on Tuesday. The possibility of water buckets being sprayed from above was also assessed.

The fire spreads to the hill on the other side of the valley.

During the survey, it became clear that the fire had spread to a hill on the other side of the Valley of Flowers, making it nearly impossible to reach it on foot or by other means. Forest Conservator Akash Verma stated that precautionary measures are being taken and constant monitoring is being done to prevent the fire from spreading to other areas. Concerns about the forest fire have also intensified at the government level. A high-level meeting was held on Tuesday, chaired by Principal Secretary Forests RK Sudhanshu, in which the efforts made so far were reviewed.

Chief Conservator of Forests (Forest Fire Control) Sushant Patnaik said that efforts will initially be made to extinguish the fire using helicopters from the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UKADA). If the situation remains uncontrolled, preparations are underway to seek help from the Air Force.

Currently, the administration and forest department are increasingly concerned about this fire in the sensitive and world-famous Valley of Flowers. All eyes are now fixed on the skies—either for the weather to be favorable, or for helicopters to control the fire.

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