Army, IAF Battle Massive Forest Fire in Himachal’s Kasauli

As massive forest fires continued to rage across the hills surrounding Kasauli, the Army and Indian Air Force increased firefighting efforts by deploying Mi-17 and Chinook helicopters for aerial water-dropping operations, including night missions aided by Night Vision Goggles (NVGs).

The fires, which spread across multiple hills around the hill station, blanketed the area in thick smoke throughout the day as authorities struggled to bring the blaze under control despite aggressive firefighting operations by forest officials, fire personnel, and defence teams.

The helicopters carried out repeated sorties, lifting water from Sukhna Lake to douse the flames, reports stated. The operation continued well past 10 pm as teams worked round-the-clock to prevent the fire from spreading further into residential and forested areas.

It is usually due to a sharp rise in temperatures that triggers the forest fires.

Home Guards Commandant Santosh Sharma was quoted by a PTI report as saying that a fire tender has been stationed in the town as a precautionary measure amid concerns over rapidly changing fire conditions.

The Army’s Surya Command said on X, “A wild forest fire in the hills of Kasauli on 26 May threatened the heritage precincts of Kasauli Cantonment.”

It added that under the close supervision and proactive guidance of Commander of the Victory For Certain Brigade, a swift and synergised firefighting response was launched, involving troops of the brigade, Air Force Station Kasauli, Cantonment Board Kasauli and Civil Fire Tenders.

“For over 16 hours, ground columns battled the flames along Gilbert Trail, Shourya Marg and adjoining areas, preventing further spread and safeguarding critical heritage zones. The air effort by #IndianAirForce Mi-17 helicopters, through effective Bambi Bucket sorties, proved decisive in containing the blaze,” the Command stated.

It further added that all personnel and equipment were safe and that no loss of civilian or combatant life had been reported. “Firefighting operations continue till the fire is fully extinguished.”

The 2024-25 season was the worst Himachal Pradesh had seen in recent years, with a staggering 2,613 forest fire incidents recorded across the state, over 2,400 of them during the summer months alone, scorching thousands of hectares of forest land, as per reports.

The state remains vulnerable to such fires because dense accumulations of dry leaf litter and pine needles are susceptible to fires due to extreme heat.