Wildfires have destroyed 3,586 hectares of forest in Palpa district over the past three weeks. The fires that started in mid-April and have been reported in 127 places so far in the district.

According to the Division Forest Office in Palpa, prolonged drought has worsened incidents of forest fires. The office reported that wildfires destroyed 989 hectares of forest area in Tinahu Rural Municipality, 604 hectares in Mathagadi Rural Municipality, 495 hectares in Tansen Municipality and 456 hectares in Rampur Municipality.

Likewise, fires engulfed 274 hectares of forest in Rainadevi Chhahara Rural Municipality, 129 hectares in Rambha Rural Municipality, 94 hectares in Purbakhola Rural Municipality, 81 hectares in Ribdikot Rural Municipality, 23 hectares in Nisdi Rural Municipality and 71 hectares in Bagnaskali Rural Municipality. According to the office, the wildfires have destroyed more forests in the districts but their details have yet to come.

The wildfires also spread to human settlements, reducing houses to ashes and killing cattle. Police said over 50 homes and sheds in different places were destroyed and 30 animals killed.

As many as three people sustained burn injuries while attempting to douse the fire, police said. Two people were injured in Rainadevi Chhahara and one in Mathagadi.

Sanjog Basnet, information officer at the Division Forest Office, said the worst-hit was the Purbakhola Rural Municipality, where many homes and sheds were damaged. According to the District Police Office, Palpa, a drinking water pipe was damaged in Nisdi Rural Municipality.

Authorities said most of the fire incidents were caused by the burning of crop residue on the fields.

Narayan Dev Bhattarai, chief of the Division Forest Office, accused locals of deliberately setting fire to the forest under the pretext of collecting firewood and chasing away wild animals. He said police arrested 18 arson suspects, but they were released after an inquiry without any charges. According to police, some of the suspects were underage and elderly.

Wildfires usually start in March in Nepal, when farmers burn stubbles on the fields and the threat keeps growing until April-May, depending on precipitation. Thousands of fire incidents occur throughout the country during this period and many of them go unrecorded.

Similarly, three houses and two sheds in Jhyambari in ward 5 of Kumakh Rural Municipality, Salyan, were destroyed when a forest fire from the local Kaphalgedi Community Forest entered the settlement on Sunday night.

According to the police, there were no human casualties; one buffalo was killed and several others were injured in the fire.

“I lost my house along with all our clothes, crops, documents, and valuable possessions. I don’t know where I am going to stay or what I am going to feed my family,” said victim Kopila Gurung.

Police Inspector Bhawani Prasad Dhamala, an information officer at the Salyan District Police Office, said that property worth Rs2 million was destroyed in the fire, and the affected families are taking shelter in their relatives’ and neighbours’ houses.

“Due to difficult topography, absence of a fire engine, and strong winds, it took nearly four hours for the security personnel to control the fire with the help of locals and people’s representatives,” said Dhamala. “Forest fires are under control in the Jhyambari area, but there are still some local forests that are still burning,” Dhamala added.