Since Saturday, more than 230 houses and animal stables have been destroyed by multiple fires in western Nepal

Over the past two days, a spate of fires – both house fires and forest fires – has caused widespread damage in several districts. An elderly woman died in Rukum West, while more than 230 houses and animal enclosures were destroyed in Gulmi, Arghakhanchi, Rupandehi and Saptari districts, destroying properties worth millions of rupees.

Seventy-year-old Budi Kami was burned to death on Sunday while trying to protect her home from forest fires in Nipane village in Ward 3 of Baphikot Rural Municipality in Rukum West. According to Janak Kumar Batha, chairperson of Baphikot Rural Municipality, the incident happened when the victim tried to control the forest fires by destroying her house.

The forest fire entered the settlement and destroyed four houses, including that of Budi Kami. Batha said the houses of Yuvaraj BK, Ananta BK and Dhan Bahadur Bohara were destroyed in the forest fire. “Security personnel have been deployed in the affected area to fight the fires. Efforts are being made, with the help of locals, to prevent the spread of fires and save lives and properties,” said Bishnu Prasad Shrestha, police inspector at Rukum West district police station. The fires destroyed dozens of hectares of forest land in several forests in the district.

After forest fires encroached on human settlements in Gulmi, around 89 houses and animal enclosures were completely destroyed on Saturday. The rural municipalities of Ishma, Madane, Malika, Gulmi Durbar Rurukshetra and Chhatrakot Dhurkot and Musikot municipality in the district have been affected by fire.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Shankar Pokhrel of Gulmi district police station, two people were injured while 83 domesticated animals were killed and nine injured in the fires. Similarly, two rice mills, a tractor, two shops and a temple were also destroyed in the area.

The injured were two male residents of Ishma-1 and Musikot-1.

The fire destroyed 27 houses, 33 sheds, a tractor, two rice mills and two shops in different areas of Ishma Rural Municipality, while a few houses in other local units were destroyed, Pokhrel said.

“Full details on the damage caused by the fires are yet to come,” Pokhrel added.

On Saturday night, all the victims lived under the open sky. Only on Sunday did the Nepal Red Cross provide assistance in some areas, while other victims have still not received help.

Ishma Rural Municipality, the worst-hit local unit, has announced that it will donate one month’s salary of its representatives and five percent of the monthly salary of its employees to the firefighting fund to support rescue and relief efforts.

According to the district police station, the forest fires have been brought under control in some places, but they have failed to control the fires in eight others.

Rajan Kunwar, information officer at Divisional Forest Office, Gulmi, said around eight hectares of forest was destroyed by fire in two days.

“People in rural areas still burn hay in their fields and near their homes for planting new crops and for fertilizer, and such activities have contributed to the spread of fires. Due to lack of awareness in remote areas and lack of strict laws, people are deliberately and unintentionally causing forest fires,” Kuwar said. “The federal and other agencies are conducting awareness programs at district headquarters, but these have not been effective. Such awareness efforts usually fail to reach local residents living far away from the district headquarters,” Kunwar added.

In Rupandehi, around 50 houses were affected by separate fire incidents in Rohini and Gaidahawa rural municipalities on Saturday.

A fire, which was started to burn wheat stalks, quickly spread to the settlements and destroyed 50 houses in ward 4, 5 and 6 of Rohini municipality. Many of the houses were burned to ashes, while several others suffered partial damage in the inferno.

Fanned by the wind, the fire engulfed the settlement in no time and the locals were unable to save their belongings. According to Bidhya Prasad Yadav, the head of the rural municipality, the fire destroyed properties worth more than Rs10 million. Security personnel of the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police and local residents brought the fire under control after a few hours. The rural municipality on Sunday distributed relief materials and Rs3,000 cash to each affected family as immediate relief.

Similarly, a fire destroyed a thatched house of Balemindra Lodha in Ward 7 of Gaidahawa on Saturday. According to police, nine goats were also killed in the incident.

As many as 43 houses and sheds were destroyed in various fires in Arghakhanchi on Saturday. According to Police Inspector Dipendra Rawal of the Arghakhanchi District Police Station, 20 houses and 23 sheds were destroyed in the district.

Thirteen houses and ten animal enclosures were gutted in Dharapani village of Bhumikasthan Rural Municipality, while five houses and eight sheds were burnt to ashes in Shitganga Municipality of the district.

On the same day, two houses and five barns were also destroyed by fire in the rural municipality of Panini.

This year, fires continue to rage unchecked in several districts of Lumbini province. According to Dilaram Paudel, information officer at the provincial Ministry of Forest, Environment, Tourism and Drinking Water, fire incidents occurred in more than 300 places in the province this year. A total of 11,448 hectares of forest have been affected by the forest fires.

“Gulmi is the worst affected by fire, especially forest fires. Several fire incidents have been reported in Kapilvastu, Arghakhanchi, Palpa, Pyuthan, Bardiya and Rupandehi districts. We are mapping the damage caused,” said Paudel.

According to data available at the provincial police station in Lumbini, a total of 25 people, including six children, have died in fire incidents in the current fiscal year 2023-2024.

In Saptari, a total of 24 houses in a Dalit settlement in Ward 5 of Kanchanrup Municipality were burnt to ashes on Sunday. The fire started around 3 p.m. in a fireplace in a shed belonging to Lalmohan Sardar.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Dhundiraj Neupane, 24 tin-roofed houses of 12 families were destroyed in the inferno. Preliminary police investigation has estimated the property damage at around Rs 2.4 million. Security personnel and local residents, helped by three fire trucks, had the inferno under control after an hour and a half.