Five people have died so far in forest fires in Uttarakhand, the state’s chief conservator of forest has said, reported ANI on Thursday.

Dhananjay Mohan, who also holds an additional charge as the head of the state’s forest force, said that of the five victims, four hailed from Nepal and were working in Almora. “The other deceased is an aged woman who lost her life in Pauri,” Mohan said.

Mohan also said that while forest fires were burning in Uttarakhand’s Garhwal division and some parts of Almora, the situation was by and large under control.

A total of 1,300 hectares of land has been affected due to forest fires in the state, he said.

“Forest department personnel are reaching on time at the accident spot,” he said. “So far, 388 cases have been registered in forest fires and in 60 cases accused persons have been named.”

Mohan said that any kind of negligence in addressing forest fires on the part of forest department personnel would not be tolerated. “Major action has been taken against 17 personnel and 10 people have been suspended,” he added.

On Wednesday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a meeting with senior forest department officials and directed them to take action against officials who have behaved negligently, reported The Indian Express.

Dhami directed officials to launch a campaign for the cleanliness of fire lines – strips of forest land where litter and organic matter is cleared up to prevent the spread of fires – in which the public should also be encouraged to participate.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court expressed concern over the situation with Uttarakhand’s forest fires and directed the state government to take preventive measures.

“Cloud-seeding or depending on rain gods is not the answer,” said Justice Sandeep Mehta, reported The Hindu. “You [Uttarakhand government] have to take preventive measures.”

The Uttarakhand government told the court that there have been 398 incidents of forest fires in the state since November 2023 and that they were all man-made.

Also read: Forest fires in Uttarakhand: Why locals are more likely to help in some places than in others