Itanagar: Indian Air Force helicopters carried out a four-day operation to help contain forest fires in Arunachal Pradesh’s East Siang district, flying 54 sorties and dropping around 1.62 lakh liters of water on affected forest areas and nearby settlements, officials said on Thursday.
The firefighting operation began on March 8 after the East Siang District Administration reported the spread of forest fires in Maibo District and requested helicopter support.
Following the request, the state Civil Aviation Administration contacted the Ministry of Defense and the Eastern Air Command, after which the IAF launched the operation, starting with aerial reconnaissance of fire-affected areas and trial lifting of water before undertaking large-scale drenching efforts.
During the operation, helicopters lifted water from the Siang River and dropped it on inland forest areas as well as sites close to human settlements, said a press statement issued by state Disaster Management Secretary Danny Sulu.
The operation, which ended on Thursday, was supported on the ground by teams from the district administration, Maibo Incident Command Unit, state Civil Aviation Department, Fire and Emergency Services, Disaster Management, and personnel from the nearby Segar Military Station.
Firefighting teams from neighboring districts, State Disaster Response Force, personnel from Assam Fire and Emergency Services, along with Apda Mitras, community and village volunteers led by Gaon Boras, also joined efforts to prevent the fire from spreading to populated areas.
An additional team from the National Disaster Response Force was requested on March 10 as a precaution in case the situation worsens.
Officials said the forest fires affected about 140 hectares of protected forest and about 200 hectares of community forest, agricultural and horticultural lands in Segar, Raling and Maipu areas under Maipu sub-division.
But no human casualties or livestock losses were reported.
Authorities said the fire was largely under control after joint efforts by multiple agencies and heavy rains in East Siang on Wednesday evening.
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