Fire at Kathlour Wildlife Sanctuary in Punjab’s Pathankot

Pathankot (Punjab) [India], June 19 (ANI): A fire broke out at Kathlour Wildlife Sanctuary in Punjab’s Pathankot on Tuesday. The extent of damage to the flora and fauna due to the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Upon receiving the information, fire tenders rushed to the spot and started dousing the fire.

The sanctuary, located along the Amritsar-Jammu bypass in Pathankot district, has dense forest and is spread over 1,867 acres. The sanctuary is home to several species of deer, including cheetal, sambar, hog deer and barking deer.

Due to the intense heat of this summer season, the incidence of forest fires in the North India region has been on the rise.

On June 16, a fire broke out in the forests of Solan in Himachal Pradesh.

The Himachal Pradesh forest department recorded over 1,500 forest fire incidents in the state this year.

As per data available from the department, over 13,000 hectares of forest land have been damaged in fire incidents reported during the past 50 days. The fire season in the hill state starts from April 15 to June 30.

On June 13, four firefighters lost their lives and four others sustained serious injuries while battling a fierce blaze in the Binsar forest in the Almora district of Uttarakhand, said forest officials.

Manoj Sanwal, Ranger of the Forest Department, said that due to the strong wind, the devastating incident took place.