Air Force's Aerial Battle: Taming Arunachal's Wildfire

The Indian Air Force has wrapped up a four-day operation to tackle a forest fire in Arunachal Pradesh's East Siang district. Over 54 helicopter sorties were undertaken, dispersing around 1.62 lakh litres of water on the affected forest regions and adjacent settlements, as confirmed by officials on Thursday.

Initiated on March 8, the operation followed a request from East Siang district authorities after a fire spread in Mebo circle. The state civil aviation department contacted the Defence Ministry and the Eastern Air Command for assistance, leading to the IAF's involvement, which began with aerial reconnaissance and trial water lifting before full-scale firefighting efforts ensued.

Supporting efforts on the ground were local administration, disaster response teams, and community volunteers. These collective actions, aided by rainfall, were crucial in controlling fires that threatened large swathes of reserve and community forests without resulting in human or livestock casualties.