Khanpur forests fire rages on

Local community calls on the forest officials to take swift action in extinguishing the fire

HARIPUR:

A fire which broke out in the forests of Khanpur tehsil on Friday could not be extinguished until late Saturday night.

According to locals, youngsters from the nearby neighbourhood of Syedan Khitiran have been working hard to put out the fire since yesterday, but they have not been successful. As of right now, no casualties have been reported.

Forest department officials have not reached the site of the fire yet. Locals say that more than half of the forest has been converted into a pile of ash. The local community is calling on the forest officials to take swift action in extinguishing the fire.

Read: Forest fires ravage Kaghan Valley

Meanwhile, Rescue 1122 promptly responded to the fire that had caught on in the mountains on Jabri Road. A fire unexpectedly broke out on the hills near Phallan Gali village on Jabri Road at night. However, the circumstances that led to the fire are unknown. Upon receiving the information, the firefighter team of Rescue 1122 arrived at the spot.

It took an hour of nonstop work to fully extinguish the fire as the darkness of the night made it challenging to extinguish the fire. The rescue operation helped save the lives of the nearby population.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2024.