Personnel of Fire and Emergency Service and SDRF fighting
wildfire in Wokha district on March 17.
- WOKHA — In an
unfortunate turn of events attributed to human negligence, a wildfire swept
through areas of Humtso and Wokha villages, reportedly causing extensive damage
to agricultural fields and plantations on the afternoon of March 17 in Wokha
district.
- The incident was suspected to have originated from jhum
slash-and-burn practices, a seasonal activity for clearing jungles for
cultivation. The first report of the wildfire was received around 1 pm,
prompting the DDMA Wokha to deploy resources to contain the blaze and prevent
its escalation.
- Despite efforts by firefighters to mitigate the wildfire,
strong winds accelerated its spread to uncontrollable levels. Various
firefighting techniques were employed including the creation of fire lines near
residential areas. Teams from the SDRF and Fire and Emergency Services worked
tirelessly, battling the flames until 12:55 am on Tuesday.
- Providing updates, Nuhuta Tunyi, SDO (Civil) of Wokha,
stated that while fires were controlled in many areas, two locations continued
to report visible flames by Tuesday afternoon. The areas were steep and
inaccessible, posing challenges for human intervention.
- Tunyi added that monitoring of those spots was conducted
using drones and the district administration was prepared to take further
action including the deployment of helicopter services, if the situation
persisted.
- Chonchibemo Odyuo, DDMA Wokha, shared that the exact cause
of the fire remains unconfirmed but noted the wildfire had already consumed
significant parts of Humtso village and extended to Wokha village, destroying
vast areas of plantations and cultivated land.
- He also mentioned that the affected terrain, consisting
mostly of shrubs and twigs, coupled with strong winds contributed to the rapid
spread of the fire. Fire Service and SDRF personnel have been engaged in
firefighting operations since receiving the initial report around 1 PM on
Monday, with response teams stationed strategically along the roads to
establish fire lines.
