Forest fire at Bandipur Tiger Reserve contained with help of water-bombing IAF choppers

SUMMARY

With Indian Air Force helicopters dumping gallons of water and firefighters toiling hard, the raging forest fire that burnt thousands of acres in Bandipur Tiger reserve has been brought under "total control", the forest department said on Tuesday. "The fire is under total control. It is not even on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border," principal chief conservator of forest C Jayaram (wildlife) told PTI. The success could be achieved with the help of the Indian Air Force, which deployed two helicopters that ferried several gallons of water from a nearby reservoir to douse the raging flames. "Bambi bucket operations continue. Seven sorties and 19k litres sprayed today (Tuesday). Helicopters (are) on standby at Mysuru. No further tasking by the state government since noon," the IAF tweeted later. Thousands of acres of land in the Bandipur tiger reserve were gutted in a fire over the last four days, creating fear about the safety of wild animals, forest officials said on Sunday. Foresters, along with hundreds of volunteers, made a vain bid to douse the fire that had spread to dangerous proportions, the officials said. Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy in a tweet requested people to stay away from the affected areas until the situation was brought under control. Caption Credit: PTI/IANS