Himachal Pradesh has witnessed a sharp rise in forest fires during the ongoing summer season, with as many as 248 incidents reported across the state’s 11 Reserve Forest Circles so far this year. Of these, 241 incidents have been recorded between April 15 and May 27, highlighting the growing threat posed by forest fires during the peak summer months.

The Mandi Forest Circle has emerged as the worst-affected region, reporting 81 forest fires in the last two months alone. Dharamshala Forest Circle recorded the second-highest number of incidents at 59, followed by Nahan Forest Circle in Sirmaur district with 49 fire incidents. Mandi, Sirmaur, and Bilaspur Forest Circles were among the 144 most vulnerable districts to the forest fires across the country.

The Solan Forest Circle, which includes the Kasauli forest area, has witnessed 9 major fire incidents, including the latest blaze that required the deployment of personnel from the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army for firefighting operations.

Approximately 2985.22 hectares of forest area have been burnt, causing a loss of approximately Rs 70 lakh so far this year. The area includes 2596.71 hectares of natural burnt area, 192.76 hectares of plantation burnt area, and 195.74 hectares of other burnt area.

M Madhav, Conservator of Forests (CF) and Chief Forest Fire Protection Cell, Himachal Pradesh, told The Indian Express, “The majority of fire incidents were reported after the onset of the summer season. In Himachal Pradesh, the summer fire season generally starts from April 15. Out of the total 248 incidents, 241 have been reported after April 15 to date.”

‘Fires can’t be attributed entirely to extreme heat’

Madhav said while heatwave conditions and soaring temperatures were among the most probable causes behind the fires, the possibility of human involvement could not be ruled out. “Heatwave and scorching temperatures are indeed among the likely reasons, but when fire incidents are being reported even in Shimla forests, these cannot be attributed entirely to extreme heat,” he said.

He added that the Forest Department has placed its field staff on alert in vulnerable areas. “Our field staff has been alerted. The divisional forest officer (DFO), Solan, along with other officials, is currently stationed in Kasauli. The Kasauli forests share boundaries with the Air Force Station there,” Madhav said.

Forest officials said continuous dry weather, rising temperatures, the accumulation of dry pine needles, and human negligence remain major contributing factors behind the recurring forest fires in the hill state. The department has intensified monitoring and firefighting preparedness in sensitive forest zones as temperatures continue to rise across several districts of Himachal Pradesh.

A senior forest officer said three vulnerable districts, Mandi, Surmaur and Bilapsur, were selected for a French-aided project AFD, under which Rs 8 crore has already been sanctioned for resources to prevent forest fires.

“The money was sanctioned under the Himachal Pradesh Disaster Risk Reduction & Preparedness component. Under this, we have decided to procure powerful drones equipped with cameras to patrol forests and catch people who trigger fires within forest areas. Manpower is always an issue with the forest department.”

Other factors

Environmentalist Guman Singh and Sandeep Minhas stressed that, apart from human negligence, factors such as global warming and the abundance of highly flammable, fire-prone pine trees can’t be ignored.

“Forest fires in Himachal increase in summer, and almost 90 per cent of the incidents are due to human negligence,” Minhas said.

“The mid-Himalayas, in which most of Himachal Pradesh falls, is full of pine trees, including those of indigenous and exotic species. All of these species are vulnerable to fire. The needles of pine trees catch fire speedily. The pine trees are full of resin, which is very inflammable. Although the new plantation of pine trees has not been done by the forest department for a long time, the pine species also grows on its own without any assistance,” Singh said.

Forest Department data showed that only seven fire incidents were reported during the winter season, including five in Shimla Forest Circle and two in Chamba Forest Circle, indicating a steep escalation in the number with the onset of summer.

Among other forest circles, Hamirpur reported 17 fire incidents, Shimla recorded 10, Bilaspur nine, Solan nine, Chamba seven, Wildlife South four, Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP), Kullu two, and Rampur one incident.

In 2025, 561 forest fire incidents were reported in the state. Out of this, 276 forest fires were reported during the summer season. With 92 forest fires, the Dharamshala Forest Circle was the worst affected.