The wildfire in the upper areas of Jugal and Bhotekoshi rural municipalities has finally been brought under control after burning down important forest regions.
According to the Sindhupalchok District Police Office, the fire destroyed around 82 hectares of forest in half a dozen areas, including Bhotekoshi, Tripurasundari, Jugal, and Lisankhu Pakhar rural municipalities, which are part of the Gaurishankar Conservation Area.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Umashankar Yadav confirmed that there were no human casualties and that all the wildfires in the district had been controlled. “There was a massive wildfire in at least six forest areas, including Gaurishankar Conservation forests, but by Sunday, all fires had been brought under control,” he said.
On Thursday, fires broke out in multiple locations at the same time, including Jhyangwari Forest in Lisankhupakhar Rural Municipality-2, Charedanda Mulkharka Community Forest in Ward 5, and Chandrankhu Sherpa Ghumelan Community Forest in Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality-5. The fires were finally contained by Sunday.
A wildfire that started on Thursday in Purke Danda Forest, located in Tripurasundari-1 within the Gaurishankar Conservation Area, was extinguished on Saturday with the help of the Green Volunteer Team. Similarly, a fire in Syangji Community Forest in Jugal-2, Kipche, was brought under control by Sunday.
When reports of forest fires came in, security forces from the Jugal Rural Municipality police post and local community members worked together to protect the forests. Three days ago, a fire broke out in Kharanefodan Community Forest in Patichaur, Jugal-7. However, due to the difficult terrain, the fire could not be controlled immediately, forcing security personnel and locals to retreat. Now, the fire in that area has also been extinguished.
In Liping, located near the Nepal-China border in Bhotekoshi-2, a fire that started on Friday burned through the middle of the forest. “After much effort, the fire was put out on Saturday, but around 35 hectares of forest have been completely destroyed,” DSP Yadav reported.
Last Sunday, a helicopter from Simrik Air attempted to put out the fire by carrying water from the Bhotekoshi River, making 54 trips with 800 liters of water per trip. However, the effort was unsuccessful, and the helicopter had to return.
The fire in Liping Forest reportedly started due to welding work at the construction site of the Liping Khola Hydropower Project. Meanwhile, in Jugal Rural Municipality’s Kipche, Patichaur, and other forests, a fire was suspected to have been started by humans. One person, 70-year-old Daulat Syangbo from Kipche, has been taken into police custody in Jalbire for questioning.
