App alert system helps douse forest fire

Nischith N | NT

Bengaluru: With the onset of summer, the forest area witnesses wind speeds of very high speed and the temperature goes up. During such times, forest fires are a common feature due to the friction between dry leaves and trees.

To overcome this problem, Nagarhole Wildlife Sanctuary officials are using technology to monitor forest fires. The department is utilizing weather forecast information provided by the Karnataka State Remote Sensing Applications Centre (KSRSAC) and also thermal drone cameras to monitor fire.

“We did a trial run last year and the result was good. We have identified a few sensitive zones in our sanctuary. This new technology gathers data through satellites and uploads it on its website and also sends SMS to forest officials in case of fire in the forest and high temperature areas,” says Nagarhole project director Mahesh Kumar. “So, officials take extra care in high temperature zones. We also have drones cameras to monitor fire which can identify fire during night and another during the day, so in total there are 3 drones which have a capacity to fly for 4 hours”.

The forest department was forced to go in for technology after the devastating fire at Bandipur Tiger Reserve in February 2019 where more than 15,400 acres of forest was burnt. The new app is an improvisation of the Forest Survey of India (FSI) fire alert system that was implemented in 2004. It is based on inputs from two collaborative arrangements, National Aeronautics and Space Administration- Indian Space Research Organization (NASA-ISRO) and ISRO-FSI.

According to reports, Nagarhole Wildlife Sanctuary has an area of 843 square km in which forest officials are creating ‘fire lines’ beside forests to prevent flames from spreading from one place to another.

“As we are approaching summer, this app is a big advantage as it saves time from the moment the fire is detected to the time an alert is sounded. As of now we have 7 jeeps filled with water tankers and will also employ 400 temporary fire watchers to keep round-theclock watch from 31 towers besides deploying 11 private vehicles, eight sprayers, 15 power saws and 11 blowers” said Mahesh Kumar.

The department has also sent a proposal to the Union environment secretariat to provide helicopters to douse forest fires.