6,000 men, including the Army, the Air Force and three teams of National Disaster Relief Force work round the clock to contain the fires.
The forest reserves in Uttarakhand have burning for days and the situation has only gotten worse. Nearly 3,000 acres of forest land has burnt over the last 3 months. As many as 6,000 people are at work to get it under control but the scale of the fires has escalated exponentially in the last 24 hours.
Travelling from Nanital to Almora in the state, NDTV encountered small pockets of live fire, burning high and engulfing the entire highway.
About 10 km from Almora, the traffic on the highway had stopped as small bushes caught fire, jumping over to the highway due to strong winds. Thick smoke from the burning of trees was making it difficult for any traffic to pass through. No help was provided even as the cars were stuck for over an hour.
According to locals, fires like these have been breaking out at regular intervals but the response by authorities this time was sluggish if at all.
Speaking to NDTV, the Chief Forest Conserver Prem Nath said, "We are depending on intelligence on the ground to report fire but it is a huge challenge. There are rains predicted in the next 2days and we are hoping that will help the situation. Else, the coming six weeks, until the monsoon strikes the hills, will be very tough."
As 6,000 men, including the Army, the Air Force and three teams of National Disaster Relief Force work round the clock to contain the fires, satellite pictures show a sudden spurt in the blazing zones over the last 24 hours.