The most common hazard in forests is fire.

Forests fires are as

old as the forests themselves.Forest fire pose a threat to the entire
regime of fauna and flora seriously disturbing the bio-diversity,
ecology and environment of a region. During summer, the forests
become littered with dry senescent leaves and twigs, which could
burst into flames ignited by the slightest spark. As per Forest
Survey of India, about 50% of the forest area is fire prone. Very
heavy and frequent forest fire damages are noticed over 0.87%,
0.14% and 5.16% of forest areas. Forest fire causes imbalances in
nature and endangers biodiversity by reducing faunal and floral
wealth. Traditional methods of fire prevention are not proving
effective and it is now essential to raise public awareness on the
matter, particularly among those people who live close to or in
forested areas. In UT of Jammu and Kashmir, forests too in both
regions are vulnerable to fires especially during hot Summers in
Tropical and sub-tropical parts of Jammu region and during long
dry spell n Autumn in Kashmir region especially coniferous
forests which are more susceptible due to high resin content.

Causes of forest fire

Causes of forest fires can be divided into two broad categories:
Environmental (which are beyond control) and human related
(which are controllable).

Environmental: Many forest fires start from natural causes

such as lightning which set trees on fire. However, rain
extinguishes such fires without causing much damage. High
atmospheric temperatures and dryness (low humidity) offer
favorable circumstance for a fire to start. Environmental causes
are largely related to climatic conditions such as temperature,
wind speed and direction, level of moisture in soil and
atmosphere and duration of dry spells. Other natural causes are
the friction of bamboos swaying due to high wind velocity and
rolling stones that result in sparks setting off fires in highly
inflammable leaf litter on the forest floor.

Human Related: Fire is caused when a source of fire like naked

flame, cigarette, electric spark or any source of ignition comes
into contact with inflammable material.Human related causes
result from human activities. These can be intentional or
unintentional, for example graziers and gatherers of various
forest products starting small fires to obtain good grazing grass
as well as to facilitate gathering of minor forest produce. The
centuries old practice of shifting cultivation (especially in the
North-Eastern region of India and inparts of the States of Orissa
and Andhra Pradesh), the use of fires by villagers to ward off wild
animals, fires lit intentionally by people living around forests for
cooking, warmth and recreation purposes are main cause of
forest fires.

The causes of forest fire have been increasing rapidly. The

problem has been accentuated by the growing human and cattle
population. People enter forests ever more frequently to graze
cattle, collect fuelwood, timber and other minorforest produce. It
has been estimated that more than 90% of forest fires in India
are man-made.
Classification of forest fires
• Natural Fires
• Accidental Fires
• Deliberate Fires

On the basis of the place of their action

• Creeping Fire
• Ground Fire
• Surface Fire
• Crown Fire

Creeping Fire: Creeping fire is a type of forest fire spreading

slowly over the ground with low flame. It occurs in forests with
no ground cover/undergrowth usually ground covered with a
layer of dry leaves.

Ground Fire: Ground fire is a type of forest fire that burns the
ground cover only, i.e., the carpet of herbaceousplants and low
shrubs, which covers the soil. It occurs in deodar forests as slash
disposal.
Surface fire: -A forest fire which burns not merely the ground
cover but also undergrowth is called Surface fire. Most of the fires
in plains are surface fire.
Crown Fire: The other type of forest fire is a crown fire in which
the crown of trees and shrubs burn, often sustained by a surface
fire. A crown fire is particularly very dangerous in a coniferous
forest because resinous material in such trees is highly
inflammable in nature. On hill slopes, if the fire starts downhill,
it spreads up fast as heated air adjacent to a slopetends to flow up
the slope spreading flames along with it. If the fire starts uphill,
there is less likelihood of it spreading downwards.

Effects Or Adverse Impact Of Forest Fires

Forest Fires result in loss of valuable timber resources,
degradation of catchment areas , loss of biodiversity and
extinction of plants and animals , loss of wildlife habitat and
depletion of wildlife, loss of natural regeneration and reduction
in forest cover , global warming , loss of carbon sink resource and
increase in percentage of CO2 in atmosphere , change in the
microclimate of the area with unhealthy living conditions, soil
erosion affecting productivity of soils and production , ozone
layer depletion, health problems leading to diseases , loss of
livelihood for tribal people and the rural poor as approximately
300 million people are directly dependent upon collection of
non-timber forest products from forest areas for their livelihood.

The forest fire management and strategies suggested

The incidence of forest fires in the country is on the increase and
more area is affectedevery year.The technical resources required
for sustaining a systematic forest fire management programme
are badly needed. Important forest fire management elements
like strategic fire centers, coordination among Ministries,
funding, human resource development, fire research, fire
management, and extension programmes are need of the hour.

Taking into consideration the serious nature of the problem, it is

necessary to make some major improvements in the forest fire
management strategy.
There is need of a well-coordinated and integrated fire-
management programme that includes the following
components:
(1)Prevention of human-caused fires through education and
environmental modification. It will include silvicultural
activities, engineering works, people participation, and
education and enforcement. It is proposed that more emphasis
be given to people participation through Joint Forest Fire
Management for fire prevention.
(2) Removal of surface litter, pine needles, dry leaves frequently
from ground which spread fire quickly once they catch fire.
(3) Establishment of Watch towers to detect fire in remote areas
so that staff is alerted well in time.
(4) Restriction of people’s movement deep inside forests
unnecessarily especially during dry season.
(5) Awareness among nomadic people not to carry fire causing
substances inside forests and ensuring that fire lit for coking,
driving away wild animals etc is extinguished completely.
(6) Creation of fire lines inside forests to check spread of fire.
(7) Use of modern fire extinguishing tools by staff to control
forest fire in inaccessible areas where carrying water is very
difficult.
(8) Training of staff in collaboration with Fire and Emergency
department, Disaster Management etc. to tackle forest fire to
ensure least possible damage.
(9) Establishment of ponds, water harvesting structures in fire
vulnerable forests to store rain water for extinguishing fires.
(10) Establishment of special Forest Fire control rooms with
trained and well-equipped staff for quick action and
coordination.
(11) Prompt detection of fires through a well-coordinated
network of observation points, efficient ground patrolling, and
communication networks. Remote sensing technology is to be
given due importance in fire detection. For successful fire
management and administration, a National Fire Danger Rating
System (NFDRS) and Fire Forecasting System are to be
developed
(12) Special emphasis is to be given to research, training, and
development.
Preventive Measures
• Goodwill of the local people through their logistic support
to field staff in timely reporting about fire incidents and
helping staff in extinguishing the same.
• Forbidding collection of certain items of minor forest
produce during summer and dry spells.
• Action against dereliction of duty against staff as well as
reward for continuous work in preventing fires.
• Legislative measures as per Forest Protection Act, Indian
Forest Act etc.
• Putting of notices prohibiting kindling, keeping and
carrying of fire in forest areas in fire season. Lodging of FIR
against culprits found guilty of deliberately putting forests
on fire and strict action same as per provisions of Indian
Forest Act 1927 etc.
• Awareness among people regarding Do’s and Do Not,s
inside forests to prevent forest fires
• Organization, training and detailing staff for fire control
activity.
• Hazard reduction:a)Clearing camping sites and area along
paths and roads, b)Early burning, c)Clearance of fire lines.

Modern forest fire control methods used nowadays

• GIS Based fire management system to identify forest fire
prone areas and development of strategies in advance to
combat forest fires.
 • Providing of wireless sets to staff for effective
communication and coordination among field staff for quick
response cum action.
• Construction of fire watch towers for detecting fires from
distant areas as well as for vigilance.
• Providing fire resistant clothes, shoes etc to staff.
• Providing modern fire fighting equipments to staff for
better results.
• Creation of fire lines in forests to minimize damage and
spread of fires.
• Conducting research, training and publicity on firefighting
to develop new strategies.
• Establishment of Fire Control Rooms for quick deployment
of staff to site of fire incidence.
• Awareness among Nomadic people about their duty cum
responsibilities in preventing forest fires during nomadic
migration.

“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky. When we fell
them down and turn them into paper then we may record our
emptiness”….Khalil Jibran

(The Author is Regional Director Social Forestry Kashmir.

Email: tralimaraj@gmal.com)