180 Forest Fire incidents reported this season in U’khand
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 7 May: While forest fires in Uttarakhand are routinely assessed from an environmental and forestry perspective, their devastating impact on wildlife remains largely ignored. Despite recurring wildfires year after year, the Forest Department has never conducted a comprehensive study nor maintained data on the loss of wildlife. In this fire season, alone, 180 incidents have been reported, yet there is no information on animal casualties, neither for this year nor for any previous years.
According to the forest department officials, wildfires significantly disrupt the habitat and survival of both small and large wild animals. However, surprisingly, no official statistics have ever been released regarding wildlife deaths resulting from these fires. Top forest officers acknowledge that wildlife is adversely affected during fire outbreaks. They claim that just as the department takes steps to control forest fires, similar efforts are being made with the help of committees and local communities in protected areas to mitigate the impact on wildlife.
It may be reminded here that Uttarakhand is home to very wide and diverse wildlife and these are not restricted to reserved major national parks like Corbett Tiger Reserve and Rajaji National Park, which are home to a rich variety of fauna. However, despite such natural wealth of wildlife in the state, the forest department is yet to publish any wildlife casualty data related to forest fires.
The state forest department has made tall claims regarding plans for data collection on forest fires. Garhwal Post too has reported that Uttarakhand is all set to get a comprehensive system to monitor and assess the environmental damage caused by forest fires. For the first time, the state will roll out a large-scale monitoring mechanism to keep tabs on pollution levels during fire incidents. The Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board will also now track forest fire events across all districts, promising a more detailed analysis of the pollution caused by these blazes. Based on this data, the state government claims it will be able to plan and act more effectively in the future.
However, while tall claims are being made about pollution tracking, there’s conspicuously no plan in sight to assess the loss of wildlife due to these fires. It’s almost as if the state’s fauna is invisible in the plan. So, while the state is busy patting itself on the back for “better planning”, the actual cost to wildlife – the silent victims of these raging fires -remains unaccounted.
According to official sources, of the 180 fire incidents this season, 12 occurred within protected wildlife areas, impacting more than 15 hectares of forest land. Overall, 209 hectares of forest across the state have been affected and it is not possible that wildlife may not have been affected.
Environmentalists have long criticised the lack of monitoring and reporting mechanisms for assessing the toll on wildlife during such disasters. Given that these protected areas are densely populated with various species, it is highly likely that many animals either perish in the flames or suffer long-term habitat loss and displacement.
Unfortunately, this issue is not confined to Uttarakhand alone. According to the Forest Survey of India (FSI), India recorded over 64,000 forest fire alerts between January and April 2025, with the highest density of incidents reported from central and northern states. The Himalayan region, including Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, has been particularly vulnerable this particular season due to prolonged dry spells and rising temperatures.
In a recent report by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), experts warned that continued negligence in tracking wildlife losses may lead to irreversible damage to biodiversity. The report also pointed out that the country is losing not just trees, but entire ecosystems. Without accurate data, mitigation and conservation strategies remain incomplete.
As wildfires continue to wreak havoc, conservationists are urging both state and central agencies to urgently develop standardised protocols to document the impact on wildlife and include it as a core component of forest fire response plans.
It may be pertinent to note that the absence of reliable data on wildlife casualties points towards a critical gap in forest governance. As the fire season intensifies, there is a growing consensus among ecologists, forest officials, and civil society that safeguarding wildlife must be treated as a parallel priority alongside forest preservation.
