Manang forest fire going uncontrolled for 12 days

By Yadu Prasad Bhatta,Manang, Feb. 12: The fire in the forest near Timang, Chame Municipality-1, in Manang, has not come under control. 

Although the municipality received light rain on Monday evening, that was not sufficient to control the forest fire, according to the Chief District Officer, Matrika Acharya. Since the evening of January 31, the fire has not been completely controlled. 

"Efforts for complete control of the fire are being carried out with continuous involvement of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), Division Forest Office, local residents and security personnel," CDO Acharya said.

Until the fire is fully controlled, all agencies will continue to deploy their mechanisms and manpower every day, starting in the morning, to work on containing the fire. Because of the complex terrain, the fire has not been brought under control yet, the District Administration Office, said.

As the fire could not be contained in time, pasture land for livestock has been destroyed, and habitats for the national bird Himalayan Monal and Rhododendron trees have been destroyed. However, security personnel and locals are still working to control the fire as much as possible. 

Efforts have already been made to prevent the fire from spreading to other areas, and the risk to human settlements has been mitigated, said Acharya.

The head of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) local office, Dhakbahadur Bhujel, said that the lack of snow in snow-prone areas and the dry conditions were among the reasons for the fire, and the dryness made it difficult to control the fire. 

According to ACAP, fires have been reported in areas like Taal, Ice Lake, and Pisang Bhir since November. The fire that broke out on November 17, 2020 was only controlled after two months. The fire caused the destruction of 1,200 hectares of forest in Manang.