On Sunday morning, 24 April from 7 am onwards, for more than 48 hours, a forest fire has been blazing in the hills of South Mizoram. Outspreading to towns and villages of two nearby Districts, Lunglei and Lawngtlai, damaging a massive plot of lands and vegetation compelling Chief Minister Zoramthanga to ask for central help.

Several local Volunteers, Firefighters, Disaster Management teams, Assam Rifles, and Border Security Force Personnel were functioning constantly to put a stop to the fire in the Hills, which share borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The Indian Air force, according to the Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga’s request placed two Mi-17V5 helicopters, provided with specialized Bambi buckets to drench the fire.  No human fatality has been disclosed so far but, detailed reports are yet to come from the contrived districts. Lunglei is the most affected, and the state government will inquest the root of the forest fire as it is outlooked to be man-made, the official said.

State Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister TJ. Lalnuntluanga, and Serlui assembly constituency MLA Lalrinsanga Ralte hurtled Lunglei on Sunday to assess the status.

Three more districts apart from Lunglei- namely Serchhip, Lawngtlai, and Hnahthial are attacked by the wildfire, and firemen have been positioned at several incidental spots, he said. “We managed to control a good part of it last evening itself,” said Kulothungan A, DC, Lunglei district, “However, it erupted again on Monday morning, and it is still going on. The team is trying but, the current high winds and dry vegetation are contributing to its spread, and making it challenging.”

The forest fires erupted in at least 8 more areas near Serchhip’s Chanmari Veng locality, Chhiahtlang, and North Vanlaiphai. Forest Fires circumstances have also been reported at Darzo and south Vanlaiphai forest areas in the Hnahthial district.

As per the reports, the Lawgtlai District is defaced, and also in Bungtlang South, the fire completely ate up 12 houses and relatively recked up two. As stated by ADC Rualzakhumthangi little twigs are still burning, and they will not give rise to any danger to human habitation. Some villages are now safe, and the fire has been put under control in some areas but, many other settlements are still at risk. The DC mentioned that dry vegetation due to modest rainfall mixed with strong winds has made the flames very sturdy. The cause of the fire is yet to be discovered, and officials are trying their best to control the overall situation.

In February, Mizoram forest officials had mentioned that around 1300 forest fires were turned up in the state in 2020, while around 1090 incidents were caused due to Jhum Cultivation, and 210 were affected naturally. A major part of rural Mizoram practices Jhum Cultivation which includes the slash-and-burn method of farming. The method involves clearing a piece of land and then burning it in a bid to make it more fertile for cultivation afterward. At times, the wind carries inflammable material to adjoining areas, which ultimately causes them to catch fire. Also, as per the Forest Survey of India (FSI), forests in Assam, Mizoram, and Tripura have been identified as ‘ extremely prone’ to a forest fire.