Chamarajaanagara, Feb 24: With summer setting in a major forest fire in Bandipur Tiger Reserve in the district has damaged hundreds of acres of forest since last 48 hours.
The fire, which had begun on Friday continued to spread on Saturday inspite of the efforts of fire fighting officials of the Forest department who are on the spot. Officials on ground estimate that hundreds of acres of forest areas have been destroyed by the fire.
The fire has spread across Kundakere, Bandipur and Gopalaswamy Betta range of the tiger reserve aided by strong winds which helped propel it.
“We are working round the clock to stop the fire from spreading but the efforts have been affected by strong winds. We are yet to ascertain the damage to the wildlife in the tiger reserve,” a senior forest official said.
The officials expect that it will take two more days at least to contain the fire but played down concerns of the fire spreading uncontrollably outside the forest range.
There are around a hundred officials of the fire and forest department fighting the flames with the help of local residents including tribals.
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