IAF conducts aerial firefighting as forest fire continues for the sixth day near Coimbatore

The Indian Air Force on April 16 began aerial firefighting using a chopper fitted with a bambi bucket to douse the forest fire that is continuing for the sixth day in the Madukkarai forest range in Coimbatore

The Indian Air Force on April 16 began aerial firefighting using a chopper fitted with a bambi bucket to douse the forest fire that is continuing for the sixth day in the Madukkarai forest range in Coimbatore district. 

The Southern Air Command deployed a chopper for the firefighting on Sunday morning, based on the request from the State government. The IAF team is drawing water from a check dam, which is around 2 km away from the fire affected steep patch of the forest, for the operation. 

District Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati visited the spot near Nathegoundanpudur village on Sunday morning. Senior officials from the Forest Department are supervising the firefighting in accessible areas at the downhill. 

The fire was first noticed on a steep and rocky terrain of the forest in the Bolampatti block II reserve forest of the Madukkarai forest range on April 11. According to Forest Department officials, dry grasses and bushes on the steep terrain were burnt in the fire and they fell to the downhill as fireballs. 

The downhill comprising patches of trees and bamboo clumps were minimally damaged in the fire. The staff, around 150 of them from five forest divisions, struggled to prevent the spread of the fire at the downhill for the past five days. The Fire and Rescue Services also joined the exercise and sprayed water in fire prone areas at the downhill.