The sweltering summer days are heating up with blazing fires hitting the forests in the northeast.
Qarkhoud protected area in Bojnourd County, North Khorasan Province, was reportedly struck by a fire on Sunday morning.
“The fire was put out by park rangers and environmentalists, but unfortunately, after it had destroyed over two hectares of woodlands,” IRNA quoted Mousa Valizadeh, a senior official at the regional Department of Environment.
“Four teams from the nearby DOE offices and three from the governorate were dispatched to extinguish the blaze,” he said.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, the official noted.
The affected woodlands, mostly covered with juniper and maple trees, are hardly accessible, taking the forces a couple of hours to reach the fire, Valizadeh said.
Qarkhoud protected area, sitting adjacent to Golestan National Park, is considered a valuable treasure of flora and fauna.
The mountainous area is a habitat for Persian Leopard, wild cat, brown bear, ovis orientalis, wild goat and wolf as well as a wide gamut of bird species.
Second Loss
Also on fire since Saturday is Kalaleh forest in Golestan Province.
According to officials, over 70 hectares of the needle-leaf trees covering the county have so far been damaged by fire, Mehr News Agency reported.
“The fire was first ignited by some locals intending to burn the remains of harvested wheat in the surrounding farmlands, but it was spread wildly through the forest,” Mohammad Hamidi, governor of Kalaleh said on Sunday.
The official explained that a team of 100 firefighters and forces from the provincial Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organization along with local people have been trying to put out the fire, but the tree leaves were still on fire through Sunday.
“We have contained the fire’s spread, but it has not been fully extinguished yet,” Hamidi said.
According to Ali Teymouri, director of Conservation, Hunting and Fishing Office at DOE, some 3,300 hectares of land in DOE protected areas (national parks, natural monuments, wildlife sanctuaries and protected areas), including woodlands, ranges and wetlands, were ravaged by wildfires during the past Iranian year (ended March 20, 2018).
The figure showed a 20% decline compared to the previous year.
