Prompt response by Delhi forest staff, drones help check fire at Asola Bhatti Sanctuary

Drones and swift action by forest officials helped contain a forest fire that spread into the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary in Delhi from Haryana.

Drones and prompt response by forest officials acting as ''first responders'' helped contain a fire that spread from the Haryana side into the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary on Wednesday afternoon, with staff rushing into the affected patches to protect wildlife and plantations under the Asola Bhati restoration plan amid heatwave conditions, officials said on Thursday.

According to the staff and officials from the sanctuary, the blaze started around 3:30 pm on the Haryana side of the wall separating the state from the Asola Bhati Wildlife Sanctuary and spread across nearly 2.5 to 3 hectares in patches into Delhi.

Officials said intensified patrolling was underway in the sanctuary because of the extreme heat conditions when field staff noticed smoke and flames.

''During heatwave conditions, patrolling is increased as the risk of forest fires rises. Our beat officers and range staff spotted smoke erupting from the Haryana side and immediately rushed to the spot,'' a senior official said.

Two range officers who were on patrol were among the first to reach the affected area and alert the other teams, they said.

Forest guards, beat officers, and range staff acted as first responders before fire tenders arrived and began efforts to control the blaze from spreading deeper into the forest area, an official said.

The teams used the fire beating technique and water tankers meant for plantation work to control the flames and create fire lines in the vulnerable stretches, the official said.

''Our staff entered the affected patches immediately to prevent the fire from spreading towards plantations and animal habitats. The priority was to ensure that there were no casualties among wildlife and to stop the flames from advancing further,'' he said.

The Delhi Fire Service later joined the operation, while drones were deployed to identify the affected patches and monitor the spread of the fire from above, the officials said.

The drones helped guide the teams on the ground and assisted the firefighting operations by identifying the areas still at risk, they added.

No injuries to animals or forest staff were reported, they said.

Preliminary assessment suggested that the blaze may have intensified due to dry vegetation and extreme heat conditions prevailing in the region, the officials said. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

A proposed 10-year management plan for the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary has recommended setting up three specialised fire response units, creating fire lines and deploying GPS-equipped teams, as it flagged forest fires as one of the biggest ecological threats to the protected area.

The plan noted that ''there is no official record documenting the fire-prone areas or past fire incidents, which makes effective management and preventive action challenging''.

It also said the ''absence of adequately equipped and dedicated fire management units further limits the sanctuary's ability to respond promptly and efficiently to fire outbreaks''.

According to the document, the semi-arid stretches of Bhatti and Asola along the sanctuary's fringes are most vulnerable to fires because vegetation there becomes ''highly flammable during the dry season''.

To tackle the threat, the plan proposed maintaining ''beat boundary patrolling trails'' as fire lines during the fire season. These are cleared pathways that act as barriers to stop flames from spreading from one forest area to another while also helping the staff monitor the vulnerable zones.

The plan also suggested equipping teams with walkie-talkies, mobile communication devices and GPS tools for ''real-time coordination with the control room and other teams''.

''Portable water pumps and hose systems would also be deployed in the vulnerable areas, while firefighting teams would be equipped with fire beaters, shovels, rakes, axes, helmets, gloves and fire-resistant clothing,'' the plan said.