In only one day, 83 forest fire locations were found across many Odisha divisions

The number of forest fire occurrences has increased this year along with the rising temperatures; on Thursday, 83 fire sites were discovered in various divisions around the state in a single day.

Two were major fire spots, according to forest authorities. One was in the Ghona beat of the Raigarh range in the Nabarangpur division, while the other was in the Harachandi beat of the Brahmagiri range in the Puri wildlife division.

The Forest Survey of India reports that since the start of the wildfire season on January 21, 430 forest fire hotspots have been found in the state. Eleven of them are substantial fire spots, most of which are found in the Koraput Circle’s forest divisions.

According to officials, the district fire prevention and management action plan 2024–25 has already been prepared by the forest divisions with assistance from the relevant district administrations to avoid forest fire events during the current season. It has been requested of the divisional forest officers to maintain a sufficient length of fire lines in woods that are susceptible to fires and to keep raising community knowledge of fire safety.

During the wildfire season, which lasts from June to June every year, 36,713 forest fire occurrences caused damage to 9,711.69 hectares of land in Odisha. The Center has given the state around <1.47 crore to help control forest fires.

Officials anticipated that the rainy weather predicted for the following several days will considerably reduce the number of forest fire hotspots.