Uttarakhand Devbhoomi - Fire in the Hills

On a recent trek I managed to get a few pictures of one of the small forest fires that plague the Himalayas just before the monsoon starts.

Some are started by local people clearing land for cultivation or clearing out the underbrush, particularly the pine needles which contribute to small fires spreading into huge fires. Some are caused by carelessness. But most are caused by lightning. The storms that come just before monsoon season are incredibly extreme. The thunder and lightning is dramatic. One reads in the newspapers about shepherds up in the hills or village people out collecting wood or their crops being struck by the lightning.

There is no fire-fighting facilities in the Himalayas. No brigades of firefighters or water bombers such as one finds in North America or Europe. The fires just burn themselves out.

There have been times when I’ve been on the road and driven very close to some of these fires. This is particularly the case near Rajaji National Park just southeast of Dehra Dun. The smoke was so thick it was like driving through heavy fog. And one could see the flames at a little distance through the trees.

When the fires approach the highways sometimes the local police or the army will come and close the road until it either burns out or passes the highway. And most villages remove trees and brush around them making something of a fire break in case there is a fire.

                                               Fire starting

                                         Another view of the fire

                                         Fire in the mountains