Forest Department begins fire line works in Coimbatore Division in view of summer

Forest Department in Coimbatore takes measures to prevent forest fires by creating fire lines and using advanced technologies.

Ahead of the summer season that begins from March, the Forest Department has started measures to prevent forest fires in the Coimbatore Forest Division. The Department has instructed forest range officers of all the seven ranges in the Division to create fire lines.

The fire lines are created through controlled burning of dry leaves, shrubs and grass along a narrow strip, mainly along forest boundaries. They prevent fire from spreading to the rest of the land.

In his recent visit to Madukkarai forest range, Forest Minister M. Mathiventhan said the Department would use advanced technologies to fight forest fire, while the fire lines acted as the first line of defence.

The Minister was responding to a query on measures taken up by the Department to put out forest fires in tough terrains similar to the one reported on a steep and rocky terrain in Madukkarai range in April 2023.

According to Mr. Mathiventhan, modern technologies will be adopted for firefighting in forests as the government had sanctioned ₹52.83 crore for implementation of ‘Modernisation of Tamil Nadu Forest Force’ scheme.

Last year, the Department created 400 km of fire lines in the Coimbatore Forest Division ahead of the fire season. However, 200 hectare of forest was affected by the fire that broke out in a steep rocky hill in Madukkarai range.

Forest Department officials said a District Fire Control Centre had been set up in Coimbatore along with 32 districts. It would act as a command centre and coordinate the fire control activities during the fire season. Various modern firefighting equipment had been procured for the centre, which was located on the District Forest Officer’s campus at North Coimbatore, they added.