Despite prolonged dry spell, Karnataka sees decline in forest fires

Contrary to the fears that forest fire incidents would increase this summer due to a prolonged dry season, Karnataka witnessed at least 54% fewer incidents and 52% less area affected by forest fire than last year.

Karnataka recorded 3,734 incidents of forest fires that were detected by satellite sensors, between January and May, as compared to 6,888 incidents in 2023 (Jan to Dec). Nearly 90% of the forest fire incidents in Karnataka occur during the summer months as the majority of the forest cover in the state is dry deciduous.

According to the data provided by the forest department, nearly 4,216.62 ha of forest area was affected by the forest fire this year as compared to 8,098.47 ha last year. Since 2020, Karnataka has witnessed 20,933 incidents of forest fires affecting 34,295 ha of forest land with 2021 being the worst year as 10,461.2 ha of forest area was affected.

Chitradurga forest division witnessed the highest (1,111.93 ha) area affected by the forest fire this year. Chikkaballapur division recorded 529.97 ha of forest area gutted in the fire.

However, it is the fire incidents in the protected areas, especially in tiger reserves, which were a worrying factor to the officials. Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, which has the highest density of tigers in the state, saw the highest number of forest fire incidents in the protected areas this year. A total of 556.84 ha of forest area in Nagarhole was affected by the forest fire, while Bhadra saw 344.27 ha and Bandipur 341.45 ha being charred in the forest fire.

Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve saw a record spike in the affected area as more than 275.73 ha of forest was set on fire by miscreants between January and mid-May. In 2023 only 25.47 ha of forest land was affected due to forest fire.

“Compared to previous years this summer BRT witnessed higher incidents of forest fire. The majority of them were human-made. Miscreants had set fire to grassland in and around the protected area resulting in such a large forest area being affected,” said BRT Tiger Reserve Director Deep Contractor. 

Sources in the department said the revenue survey of lands adjoining the forest area might have triggered the forest fire near BRT as locals fear that the government would reclaim their “encroached lands”.

Officials in the forest department and Karnataka State Remote Sensing Applications Center (KSRSAC), which generates the forest fire alerts, say scarcity of rainfall last monsoon meant lesser biomass produced in the forest that could catch fire.

“Almost 95% of forest fire incidents in Karnataka are human-made. We report a high number of ground fire incidents, where miscreants set fire to dry grass. Accidental fire incidents are the second biggest reason for forest fires in the state. Natural forest fire or the crown fire is a rarity,” says a senior forest official requesting
anonymity.

Nearly 43,382 sq km of area in Karnataka is recognised as a “forest area”. This includes five tiger reserves, 30 wildlife sanctuaries, 15 conservation reserves and one community reserve. The forest survey of India has identified 71.58 sq km (0.18%) of forest area as extremely fire-prone areas while 83.23% of forest area or 32,231.94 sq km is less fire-prone area in the state.