Two days on, forest fire still burning in hills in south Mizoram; Spreading to nearby towns

However, the cause of the forest fires is yet to be determined. (Image: Twitter/ Mizoram CM)

Mizoram forest fire: Hills in south Mizoram have been witnessing a raging forest fire for well over two days now, and the menace has spread to Lunglei and Lawngtlai, two of the neighbouring districts. At the moment, personnel from Border Security Force and Assam Rifles along with state government’s firefighters and volunteers from local groups are working on the ground to bring the fire under control, according to a report in IE. Moreover, on the request of the state government, the Indian Air Force on Sunday evening deployed Bambi Buckets-equipped two Mi-17V5 helicopters to further aid the firefighting operations.

The fire is said to have started in the forests near Lunglei town on Saturday early morning, and by the next day, it had impacted as many as 10 village council areas in the town, as well as three rural development blocks in Lawngtlai district.

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The report cited Lunglei district DC Kulothungan A as saying that a good portion of the fire had been brought under control initially, but then it erupted again and raged on due to the high winds and dry vegetation, due to which bringing it under control again was becoming difficult. In some localities in Lunglei town, the fires had reached some buildings but they were contained and doused before any property was majorly harmed. The resident areas had been evacuated by the administration when the fire had begun spreading close to human settlements, and so far, there were no reports of any damage to humans or property from the town.

In Lawngtlai, however, 12 houses have been completely destroyed and two have been partially damaged due to the fire in Bungtlang South, and while no humans have lost lives in this, some livestock perished. Officials and immediate relief supplies have been deployed for the villages by the district administration, the report said.

Lawngtlai district ADC Marilyn Rualzakhumthangi added that there were still smaller fires that were burning, and while they were not thought to be posing any danger to humans at the moment, the possibility could not be ruled out.

However, the cause of the forest fires is yet to be determined.