The massive wildfire in Wokha was successfully contained on Wednesday, bringing an end to the immediate threat. Firefighters and emergency teams worked effortlessly to prevent further damage and ensure safety of the people.
When and how did the fire start ?
The fire, which has now reached Wokha village after devastating a major portion of Humtso village, was first reported on Monday March 17.
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 fire and prevent it from escalating further.
On the first day, the responders successfully redirected the fire away from Humtsoe and Elumyo villages. However, strong winds caused it to spread towards Vankhosung, posing a significant threat.
Following collaborative efforts of the district administration, Fire and Emergency Services, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Home Guards & Civil Defence, District Executive Force (DEF) Forest and other departments, and volunteers, the massive wildfire in Wokha was successfully contained on Wednesday March 19.
During this chaos of trying to contain the wild fire to spread further a tragic incident occurred in the scene. A sub-inspector Mr. M Bentick Konyak was reported missing on the evening of March 18. A search party was deployed for a hunt of missing sub-inspector Mr. M Bentick Konyak. They actively searched until midnight but were unsuccessful in locating him the first night.
The search operation was resumed the next day around 6 am Wednesday, later at around 10 am sub-inspector Mr. M Bentick Konyak was finally recovered and unharmed at a rubber farm in Yikhum area. He was then rushed to the District Hospital Wokha for further treatment. Resources confirmed that Konyak was conscious and had sustained only minor scratches.
Meanwhile, the Fire & Emergency Services issued a press release stating that during this dry windy season, rampant and indiscriminate burning of forests by hunters, campers, miscreants, etc., continues to occur despite best efforts to dissuade the same.
The department reiterated that it cannot attend to all forest fires unless they are of alarming nature or are near human settlement areas.
It, therefore, appealed to the public and village council to take proactive measures to nab the culprit(s) and impose action on the miscreants as per law.
“So far, the state has witnessed 114 cases of forest fire within a span of two and a half months (approx.), with Kohima district alone accounting for 67 cases, which is a serious concern,” it stated.
Wokha deputy commissioner (DC) Vineet Kumar expressed his sincere appreciation and gratitude to all officers and frontline workers for their efforts in handling the disaster.
He acknowledged that through coordinated efforts, a larger catastrophe could be prevented. He said the situation ended well with the successful rescue of a missing fire responder, thanking everyone for their tireless dedication. He said a review of the situation would be done and effective measures considered for adoption at a later date to prevent recurrence of such wildfires.
