Forest fire near Tamil Nadu’s Kodaikanal causes massive damage, efforts underway to control

A forest fire that is said to have started on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday is causing severe damage in the region near Tamil Nadu’s popular hill station Kodaikanal.

The blaze which is still raging has reduced vast tracts of forest land into charred remains, as evident from videos from the area. Mayilaadum Paarai in the Perumalmalai Forest area and Machur forest area are among the places where a lot of damage has occurred.

Videos from the vicinity show large plumes of smoke distinctly rising above the hill ranges and also some tracts of forest that continue to be ablaze. The forest department rangers and staff are understood to be on site and tending to the situation. The Revenue Division Officer told WION that nearly 50-60 percent of the blaze was brought under control and efforts were underway to control the blaze from spreading further.

While forest fires occur naturally under certain conditions during summer months, it remains to be seen what caused the blaze in this region, which is in the vicinity of a popular tourist hotspot in Tamil Nadu.

In order to prevent such fires from spreading, forest department often creates a fire-line (a tract of barren land between two ranges).