Forest fire near Perumalmudi in Coimbatore contained

Forest Department contained forest fires at Perumalmudi and Boluvampatti near Tamil Nadu-Kerala border using traditional and modern methods.

The Forest Department successfully contained a forest fire at Perumalmudi, near the Tamil Nadu – Kerala border, in the Coimbatore forest range by early Thursday morning.

Officials with the Department said that the fire originated in the Kerala side and spread to the Tamil Nadu side of the border on Tuesday due to strong winds. Though the field staff camped on the hill and tried to stop the fire from entering the Tamil Nadu side, strong winds hampered their efforts, causing the fire to spread to the grasslands of Perumalmudi, destroying dry lemon grasses, broom grasses and shrubs.

A team of 20 staff led by Coimbatore Forest Range Officer V. Thirumurugan camped on Perumalmudi on Wednesday night and continued fire fighting. They descended the hill early on Thursday, after the fire was brought under control.

Mr. Thirumurugan said that only grasses on a steep and rocky region were destroyed in the fire. He added that a team from Coimbatore range would trek the hill again on Thursday evening to monitor the area and engage in firefighting if required.

Meanwhile, efforts to contain another forest fire, which spread from the Kerala side to Boluvampatti forest range limits, continued on Thursday. Around 15 staff from the Boluvampatti forest range were camping at the affected area along the interstate boundary, which falls under Boluvampatti block III reserve forest of Devarayapuram beat.

Apart from traditional forest firefighting methods, the staff also used blowers to clear dry leaves to prevent the spread of fire.