Forest fire in the Central Himalaya: An extent, direction and spread using IRS LISS-I data

Central Himalaya, comprising eight hill districts of the Garhwal and Kumaun region of Uttar Pradesh, has witnessed one of the most devastating forest fires of recent decades during the months of May-June 1995. In order to provide a reliable estimate of the severity of damage caused due to forest fire and for monitoring of such event in future a methodology has been developed using IRS LISS-I data of the pre and peak fire period (26-27 May 1995). Four districts of Uttara Khand (Almora, Chamoli, Tehri and Pauri) which were severely affected by fire have been selected for this study. The results show that as on 27 May, 1995 a total of 2115 km2 which is 21.5 per cent of the total geographical area of these four districts had been subjected to various degrees of fire damage. The spread of the fire damage ranges from 600m to 2650 m altitude. Chir Pine areas indicated maximum loss followed by Mixed, Oak Mixed and Oak forests. Results of overlap area study show a north-west direction of fire spread with spread rate of nearly 3.82 km2/per hour in chir pine forest. This study stresses the need for high temporal resolution data and real time monitoring system, so as to provide precise information regarding direction and rate of fire spread in order to take prompt fire control measures, especially taking into consideration data available from IRS-1C/1D, IRS-P3/WIFS and planned 1 km resolution INSAT-2E with 3 bands (Red, NIR and MIR) with possibility of every 30 minutes data (6000 km by 6000km) and even one minute data capture (3000 km NS 6000 km NW). This would enhance the chances for 'ON LINE ADVICE' for large scale fire control.