Over 3,000 acres of forest cover was destroyed in the fire. (File photo)
Forest fires which ravaged close to 3700 hectares of land in Uttarakhand for the past three months have completely been doused, aided by widespread rain in the hill state over the last two days.
"For the last 24 hours, most of the 13 districts have witnessed squalls, moderate to light rainfall which will continue over the next 48 hours, bringing much needed respite with it. Most of the fires have been extinguished," says Piyush Rautela, Executive Officer, Disaster Management.
Nearly 1,700 forest fire incidents have been reported since February 2; four people have been reported dead. Around 12,000 personnel from different departments including the National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, police and forest guards are engaged in firefighting operations in the state.
With the fires put out, hopes of business have been resurrected. Summer means business to the hill-state - the Chardham Yatra will begin within a week and hill-stations will soon attract thousands of tourists as it gets hotter in the plains.
"The forest fires deterred many to visit Uttarakhand, we have had many cancellations. But this much needed rain has brought back pleasant weather and we hope and pray that business will catch-up as well," said Sandeep Sawhney, President, Uttarakhand Hoteliers and Restaurant Association.