Nearly 22 per cent or 8,267 sq.km of the total forest area in Himachal Pradesh is fire-prone. A majority of the fires were reported from the pine forests since during summer the trees shed needles that are highly inflammable due to the rich content of turpentine oil.
As per government data, 1,200 to 2,500 forest fires are reported in the state every year. Mid and low hills in Shimla, Solan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi and Sirmaur are the worst- affected districts.
For conservation, scientific management and sustainable use of pine forest residue that can be used as biofuel, an alternative to alleviate dependence on fossil fuel, the government on Tuesday said it is planning to produce compressed biogas (CBG) from pine needles.
