Suspected man-made incident; six fire tenders, 30 personnel battle for four hours to douse inferno

Mysore/Mysuru: A fire broke out at the foot of Chamundi Hill last night and burnt over 50 to 60 acres of vegetation. The Chamundi Hill — about 3,489 ft. above sea level — is spread across a vast area of more than 1,500 acres and is a home for rare biodiversity. 

The fire was noticed first at the right side of the steps at around 5.45 pm on the foothill and even before the local residents, who spotted the fire, could alert the Fire and Emergency Services Department, it spread fast due to dry vegetation. There was a considerable wind speed last evening and this helped the fire to spread at a rapid pace.

The fire spread fast as the area is dominated by grasslands and the ground spread with dry twigs. Thick smoke billowed from the ground and the fire destroyed most of the vegetation in a vast area, killing small animals, reptiles and insects. Residents said that it took just 30 minutes for the fire to spread and reach upwards the Hill.

The Forest Department personnel said they struggled for more than four hours before the fire could be brought under control. “The presence of dry vegetation and shrubs provided fuel for the fire to rage. In all, six fire engines were pressed into service and over 30 personnel including the Police were involved in the operation. The flames were so huge that we could not go anywhere near the inferno. Somehow, the fire was doused by 10 pm,” District Fire Officer H. Raju told Star of Mysore.

Suspecting that the fire was man-made, he said that some passer-by would have thrown a burning cigarette butt into the vegetation. “The summer is at its peak now and the vegetation has already dried with a bed of dry leaves and twigs on the ground. It is easy for the fire to spread. After the fire was extinguished, we had stationed one fire tender to prevent further damage,” Raju added. 

According to local residents, the fire was noticed at 5.45 pm and they thought that someone was burning dry leaves. “Soon, the fire spread and we alerted the Fire Department who rushed to the spot within 15 minutes. As the inferno was huge, six fire tenders were pressed into service. Even the Police teams cooperated and the fire was contained before it could cause more damage,” said Savitha Ghatke, a resident near the foot of Chamundi Hill.