Major fire breaks out at Chamundi Hills in Mysuru

Chamundi Hills in Mysuru engulfed in fire, threatening wildlife and vegetation, despite efforts to contain the blaze.

Chamundi Hills in Mysuru witnessed multiple incidents of fire on Friday (February 21, 2025), with vast tracts of dry and scrub forest gutted due to the conflagration.

It is suspected that the fire was initially stoked by miscreants and was first noticed close to Bandiplaya and Uttanahalli Road which is one of the approach roads to Chamundi Hills.

Fire and Emergency Personnel were deployed by the forest department authorities but the raging flames was fanned by high wind.

Chamundi Hills is a reserve forest and is prone to fire given the nature of its vegetation classified as dry tropical and scrub jungles. Though efforts have been made to “green” Chamundi Hills in the past, it was without success given the rugged and rocky terrain.

While fire lines — which entail creating a bald patch of land around boundaries of different blocks and beats — is one of the methods of preventing the spread of fire from one block of the jungle to the other, they tend to be redundant if there is high wind.

Jayaramaiah, Chief Fire Officer, Mysuru Zone, told The Hindu that they have deployed four fire extinguishers at different sites where the fire was raging and two additional fire extinguishers, were set to join the efforts shortly.

“We can reach out to about 40 feet on both sides of the road and damp the vegetation to prevent the spread of fire. But beyond that, it is not possible to venture as the terrain was steep and there was no approach road for vehicles,” he said.