Uttarakhand News: Forest Fire Continues In Valley Of Flowers For Third Day, Steep Terrain Hampers Operations

Uttarakhand News: The forest fire in the Valley of Flowers range of Nanda Devi National Park continues to burn for the third consecutive day, with difficult terrain slowing down firefighting operations, officials said.

The blaze has been reported in the buffer zone of the Valley of Flowers and is spreading steadily. Forest department teams deployed to douse the fire faced major hurdles after they were unable to cross the Pushpa Ganga river in the Bhyundar area due to the absence of a bridge.

On Sunday, forest personnel managed to cross the river by placing wooden poles and using them for support. After crossing, the teams moved towards the affected forest area to begin operations. However, steep cliffs and rocky surfaces have made it difficult to reach certain sections of the fire zone.

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At the same time, another forest fire continues to spread in the Chaai Theng forest area of Jyotirmath, adding pressure on the limited firefighting resources.

Nanda Devi National Park Divisional Forest Officer Abhimanyu said teams have been deployed at both locations. He said the fire has now reached rocky areas, where conventional firefighting methods are less effective and movement is restricted.

Meanwhile, the forest department has succeeded in controlling several other fires in the district. Fires in the Mandal and Chopta forest areas under the Kedarnath Wildlife Division were brought under control on Sunday. Blazes in the Siroli and Gwad forest regions have also been contained.

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In the Chopta forest, teams led by Sub-Divisional Officer Mohan Singh are continuing firefighting operations. Officials said the fire in the lower forest area has been controlled, while efforts are ongoing to extinguish flames in the rocky upper sections.

Forest officials, frontline staff and local villagers are jointly involved in the operation. Authorities said firefighting work will continue until all active fire zones are fully brought under control.