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Chamoli, Uttarakhand. Flames rise from the forest near the village, and the women of the Mahila Mangal Dal know—someone must have set fire to the dry brush, hoping green fodder will grow. Maybe a farmer burned crop residue and left it smouldering, and a stray spark found its way into the forest. Or someone tossed a half-lit beedi (leaf cigarette), and that alone was enough to set the dry pine needles ablaze. The fire starts small, silent, almost unnoticed—until it isn’t.
“Hey didi, hey bhuli—elder sister, little one—call out to all,
let no one set fire to the forest at all.
Let the sarpanch gather every hand,
and join with the forest guards to protect our land.”
“When we see fire in our forest, all the women of our Mahila Mangal Dal call out to each other and rush together to put it out. Many times, we’ve left our small children asleep, left their milk and meals behind, and run to fight the flames. We care for the forest like we care for our own children—after all, it too shelters tiny saplings, birds’ nests, and the young of barking deer, bears, and tigers. Just like our children, the forest has its own.”
In Kathoor village of Dasholi block, Chamoli district, the Mahila Mangal Dal takes on the responsibility of protecting the forests surrounding their village. A senior member of the group, Gangotri Devi, says, “The forest department holds meetings in our village. They tell us—don’t let the fire start. It’s because we’ve kept the fires in check that our forests are full of kafal (wild Himalayan berry). Our woods have trees like oak, rhododendron, and wild strawberry—so many different species thrive here.
Gangotri Devi and other village women are cleaning freshly harvested wheat ears under the April sun. From most homes perched along the mountain slope, the forest is clearly visible.
Usha Kanwasi, the president of the Mahila Mangal Dal, says, “Forest fires don’t start on their own. It’s often someone’s negligence or intentional. The women of the Mahila Mangal Dal keep a close watch on the forest. On the fifteenth of every month, we hold a meeting to remind everyone not to let fires start. We tell people not to leave burning crop residue unattended in the fields. We watch out for people smoking beedis. And if someone refuses to help when there’s a fire, the Mahila Mangal Dal fines them.”
The women proudly share that forest fire incidents in their area have become few and far between.
Mahila Mangal Dals are informal, village-level groups consisting of 12 elected women, with all village women considered members. These groups are actively involved in community work such as sanitation and forest conservation. The state government has also been providing them an incentive amount of Rs 4,000.
In May 2025, during a programme held in Dehradun, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami praised the role of Mahila and Yuva Mangal Dals, noting that in times of disaster, these groups act as first responders in villages. He announced that the government would soon introduce a loan assistance policy to help make these groups self-reliant.
Faced with the growing intensity and spread of forest fires in recent years, the Uttarakhand forest department overhauled its preparedness strategy ahead of this year’s fire season. The approach now combines advanced technology with deeper engagement of village communities and local institutions—aiming to make forest fire prevention a truly collective responsibility.
As temperatures rise, so does the threat of forest fires. According to the Forest Survey of India (FSI), over 750 forest fire alerts were issued for Uttarakhand between November and June during 2019-20. By 2023-24, that number had crossed 21,000—an alarming 28-fold increase in just five years.
The past decade has been the hottest on record. In 2024, for the first time, global temperatures rose 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Himalayan states are feeling the effects acutely.
According to the Forest Survey of India (FSI)’s India State of Forest Report, Uttarakhand jumped from thirteenth place in 2023 to first in 2024 in terms of forest fire incidents. Himachal Pradesh also rose sharply—from twenty-fourth to eighth place. During this period, five out of Uttarakhand’s 13 districts ranked among the top 20 most affected districts in the country.
In 2024, forest fires in Uttarakhand claimed 12 lives—the highest so far—including six forest department personnel.
Forest fires are not just a local crisis—they threaten entire ecosystems. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its Fifth Assessment Report, notes that exposure to smoke from landscape fires—including forest fires—causes an estimated 260,000 to 600,000 premature deaths of humans and wildlife globally each year. These fires also release between two to four billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, significantly contributing to the rise in atmospheric greenhouse gases.
Black carbon released from forest fires and agricultural residue burning poses a serious threat to Himalayan glaciers. A 2016 study by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology at the Chirbasa station near the Gangotri glacier found that black carbon levels during summer were nearly 400 times higher than in winter. Black carbon absorbs sunlight and heats the glacier surface, accelerating the rate of melting.
From biodiversity to glaciers, forest fires bring devastating consequences. In Chamoli district, 66 per cent of the total land area is forested, home to a rich variety of species such as chir pine, rhododendron, Himalayan cedar (deodar), blue pine (kail), Roxburgh fig (angu), and horse chestnut (pangar). The district also hosts major glaciers, including Nanda Devi, Satopanth, and Chaukhamba.
The forest fire crisis of 2024 marked a turning point for the Uttarakhand government. As flames raged uncontrollably, authorities launched an all-out response. Villagers, disaster relief forces, and even the army were mobilised. Helicopters dropped water from the air while personnel from the National and State Disaster Response Forces battled the blazes on the ground.
Sarvesh Dubey, divisional forest officer (DFO) of the Badrinath Forest Division in Chamoli, says, “The forest department has limited resources. A single forest guard is responsible for around 2,000 to 2,500 hectares. That’s why community involvement is essential. Ahead of the fire season, we held awareness meetings across villages and, for the first time, organised wildfire control training for villagers at the police ground in Gopeshwar, the district headquarters. Forty-five forest panchayats in high-risk zones were equipped with fire kits, and 50 panchayats that successfully protected their forests will be rewarded with Rs 30,000 each.”
“We use bundles of green tree branches to beat down the flames,” says Dharmesh Sailani, village forest council head of Kathoor village, who also participated in the forest department’s training programme. “In the sessions, we were taught how to clear dry leaves and wood to create fire lines that stop the fire from spreading. We were also given a fire kit, which includes a rake to gather dry material, a water bottle, a torch, and a protective jacket.”
The forests under his Forest Panchayat (a village-level forest council) caught fire twice this year—in March and April. While trying to douse the flames alongside villagers, Sailani was injured and had to be admitted to hospital.
The forest department’s initiative has made villages more alert. Sunita Devi, president of the Mahila Mangal Dal in Gwad village of Dasholi block, attended the fire control training in Gopeshwar this year. There, she was felicitated for her efforts in putting out forest fires last year. “Earlier, the forest would burn for days, and no one would come to help,” she says. “But this year, if flames are seen near anyone’s home or field, we inform them immediately—and together, we manage to control the fire in time.”
The women of Gwad village also hold meetings on the fifteenth of every month to discuss issues concerning the village and the surrounding forests. Sunita hopes that such efforts could also help generate some income for the villagers.
“Most forest fires occur in areas close to villages or roads,” says Rajendra Rawat, forest guard of Dasholi block. “It’s only through awareness and cooperation from local residents that our forests can be protected. A forest guard cannot put out fires in vast forest stretches alone.”
“In villages where Mahila Mangal Dals are active and aware, forest fires are less frequent and quickly contained,” says Rajendra, citing Kathoor village as an example. “This year, we held forest awareness meetings across the region and had villagers take pledges not to start fires. Encouraging and involving local communities is essential.”
To improve forest fire management, the forest department is combining training with technology. The aim is to ensure forest fire alerts reach local communities instantly so action can be taken without delay. Village-level WhatsApp groups have been created for forest fire updates. These include village heads, forest council (Van Panchayat) leaders, Mahila Mangal Dal members, local volunteers, and forest officials. Based on these groups, forest fire safety committees have also been formed at the Gram Panchayat level to coordinate forest fire response and prevention efforts.
The Uttarakhand forest department launched the Forest Fire Uttarakhand app earlier this year. The app serves as a centralised platform to gather real-time forest fire information reported from the ground. It had previously been tested as a pilot project in Rudraprayag district during the forest fire seasons of 2020 and 2021.
Indian Forest Service officer Vaibhav Singh, who has led the development and implementation of the Forest Fire app, says, “The app has accelerated the flow of information on forest fires. Over 10,000 people across the state are registered on the platform, including more than 5,000 forest department personnel and over 2,000 volunteers. Even local residents can upload photos of forest fires if they spot one.”
“The Forest Fire app has significantly cut our response time,” says Singh. “Earlier, we had to rely on local residents or alerts from the FSI for forest fire information. From the time a satellite detected the fire to identifying the forest area, range, and beat, processing the data, and sending out bulk SMS alerts—this could take anywhere from 1 to 7 hours. But this year, in several cases, we received alerts through the Forest Fire app even before the FSI alert came in—and the fire had already been extinguished.”
Singh adds that the app will soon integrate pre-fire alerts from the FSI and the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
“The Uttarakhand forest department has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IMD Dehradun. Based on rising temperatures and dry conditions, IMD will issue alerts for areas at high risk of forest fires—similar to how it warns of heavy rainfall during the monsoon,” he explains. “Soon, these alerts will be sent through the Forest Fire app to beat-level forest staff, village heads, forest council leaders, and others linked with the app.”
The IT cell of the Uttarakhand forest department manages the data linked to the app.
Dharmesh Sailani, forest council head of Kathoor, also shows the Forest Fire app on his mobile phone. However, he says that he mostly relies on WhatsApp groups to share and receive forest fire related messages.
To encourage community participation in forest fire control, villagers are being given financial incentives.
Dhananjay Mohan, principal chief conservator of forests, Uttarakhand, says that the budget for forest fire management comes from the state forest plan, the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), and the central government’s Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme.
“This year, two key decisions were made to involve local communities in fire control. In February, the government issued an order to provide an annual incentive of Rs 30,000 to forest fire safety committees formed under the leadership of village heads. Additionally, under the “Bring Pine Needles, Get Paid” campaign, the rate for collecting dry chir pine needles was increased from Rs 3 to Rs 10 per kilogram. The campaign’s budget was raised from Rs 1.5 crore last year to Rs 50 crore this year.”
He adds that 4,800 village residents across the state are employed as fire watchers during the four-month fire season.
Dr. Mohan says, “This year, we made several efforts to protect forests from fires, and the results have been encouraging. Through government orders, we have linked local communities to forests in an economically meaningful way. These efforts will continue in the future as well.”
The combination of community participation and use of technology brought significant relief to forests and wildlife. According to data from the Uttarakhand forest department, between February 15 and May 31, there were 200 forest fire incidents affecting around 223 hectares of forest area. In comparison, during the same period in 2024, there were 1,175 recorded incidents that affected 1,614 hectares. In 2023, 464 incidents had impacted 536 hectares.
This means that compared to 2024, there has been nearly a five-fold decrease in forest fire incidents and a three-fold drop in affected areas this year so far.
This year, the weather also played a supportive role, with intermittent showers during April and May helping ease fire conditions across the state.
According to Nishant Verma, additional principal chief conservator of forests (Forest Fire and Disaster Management), the preparedness before the fire season brought substantial benefits.
“Between November and February, we conducted over 5,000 awareness programs to engage community institutions like forest councils and Mahila Mangal Dals. This year, we also involved other departments in the efforts. District magistrates, who chair the forest fire management committees, issued directives to ensure that all departments assist the forest department when needed. Before the fire season began, mock drills were conducted with all departments to test readiness. Controlling forest fires became a shared responsibility, involving fire and emergency services, public works department, state disaster response force, and quick response teams,” Verma said.
Kishan Singh Bisht, forest council head of Kujom village in Dasholi block and chairperson of Dasholi’s forest fire advisory committee, welcomes the forest department’s initiative to actively involve local communities.
“This year, in January and February, it seemed as if forests were burning in every direction. But whenever we saw a fire, we immediately shared the information in our WhatsApp group and informed the forest staff without delay. Villagers remained alert, which helped in quickly controlling the fires. Of course, the weather was also favorable this year. Starting in February, we had periodic rainfall that helped retain moisture in the forests,” he said.
Bisht suggests, “Forest fire training must reach every village. It’s also important that each village has more than one fire kit and the necessary tools—and all of this should happen regularly.”
Rakesh Maithani, forest council head of Sonla village in Dasholi, echoes the need for better resources. “Whether it’s villagers or forest staff, no one has proper tools to control fires. Even forest staff end up breaking tree branches to beat down flames,” he says.
Maithani adds, “Forests are already linked to our lives. If they’re also connected to our livelihoods, people will take even greater responsibility.”
“From the legacy of Chipko rises a new pledge: Our forests will not burn.” The Dasholi Gram Swarajya Mandal, an organisation rooted in the historic Chipko forest movement, travels across forest fire-prone villages to raise awareness.
Vinay Semwal, the joint secretary of the organisation, shares the suggestions they’ve received from communities during these journeys:
“The forest department must stand with the people. Villagers feel the forests belong to the government, and their rights have been limited. If they’re allowed to sustainably use forest resources to meet their needs, and if fodder species and useful trees are planted on forest council lands, it will help restore their sense of ownership.”
Despite the forest department’s push to form Gram Panchayat-level committees for forest fire management, the move has drawn some criticism also. Mallika Virdi, founder of Himalaya Ark and former sarpanch of the Sirmoli forest council, questions the logic behind creating new structures when forest councils have been protecting these ecosystems for generations. “Why sideline institutions that already exist and have deep-rooted connections to the land?” she asks. According to Virdi, introducing new committees and financial incentives risks turning forest protection into a bureaucratic project. “Communities with emotional and cultural ties to the forest will continue to defend them,” she says. “But turning this into a top-down project dilutes that commitment. You’re replacing trust and tradition with paperwork—and I’m not convinced it will work.”
Virdi says the forest department must first earn the trust of the people—only then will communities truly stand with them during crises.
For generations, mountain communities have protected forests and managed fires through traditional wisdom—driven not by mandates, but by necessity. Forests have been their source of green fodder for livestock, organic manure for crops, and a living bond with nature. In Chamoli’s Raini village, Gaura Devi, then head of the Mahila Mangal Dal, led the legendary Chipko movement. Her act of hugging trees to prevent them from being felled became a defining moment in India’s environmental history—a symbol of the deep-rooted connection between people and forests.
That legacy endures. In Kathoor village, the local Mahila Mangal Dal continues to carry this tradition forward. The women here speak with quiet pride, recalling that they belong to the land of Chipko.
On this hot afternoon, as Usha, head of the Mahila Mangal Dal in Kathoor, pours rhododendron juice into glasses, she smiles and says,
“We’ve cared for our forests like our own children—that’s why they give us these blossoms to make cool, healing drinks.”
This story is produced with support from Internews’s Earth Journalism Network.