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Ella fire Doused but damage extensive

25 Aug 2019

The major fire which spread across the Ella Rock mountain was extinguished after a 20-hour battle, but the damage it had caused is said to be extensive. After a mission of close to 20 hours was carried out with the collaboration of the Sri Lanka Air Force, Sri Lanka Army, Ella Police, and the residents of the area, the fire that burnt a considerable portion of the forest cover of the Ella Rock mountain reserve was extinguished on Friday evening. “This is an annual occurrence and this was the third fire that was reported from the area for this month. Every year, towards the end of the dry season, forest fires occur. Sometimes it is of natural causes and sometimes it is due to human activity. At present unfortunately, there is no monitoring mechanism implemented to stop fires from spreading,” District Disaster Management Co-ordinating Unit (DDMCU) Badulla Assistant Director E.M.L. Udaya Kumara told The Sunday Morning. The fire had erupted towards noon on Thursday (22) and many residents had stopped the fire from spreading towards their homes first. However, the fire continued to burn a larger area throughout the day. The DDMCU Badulla had requested assistance from the Air Force to deploy a helicopter to douse the fire that was raging on the precipice of the mountain. “They were unable to send a helicopter at the time as the weather was unfavourable. Later, the Army and the Air Force, with the assistance of the Ella Police and the residents, scaled the mountain to stop the fire from spreading. That was the most effective method that we could utilise to mitigate the fire,” Kumara said. He further stated that a lack of awareness and the dry weather in the area had caused the forest fire to spread rapidly. Dousing the fire was particularly challenging, as the fire started on a precipice and since it was a dry month, the underbrush too was very dry which fuelled the fire further. According to Kumara, the people from the area often set fire to smaller sections of their farmlands, so the dry underbrush can be destroyed to make room for fresh grass to grow. Once the fresh grass sprouts, the livestock has fresh grazing grounds. However, these types of fire can spread rapidly if the entire region is dry. “The DDMCU is only able to co-ordinate the relevant stakeholders to act and respond during a time of disaster. Since it poses a threat to lives and is destroying the ecosystem of the area in a larger scale, we are now looking at implementing awareness sessions to educate the people in the area to act fast when a fire occurs. We will also teach them to be vigilant about the fire hazards that could be caused by human activity and prevent fires from occurring,” Kumara added. While the extent of damage caused is yet to be estimated by the Forestry Department, the DDMCU Badulla reported that, none of the residents, houses, or important infrastructure was affected by the forest fire. By Sarah Hannan

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