Nainital forest fire spreads, IAF copter, Army called in

An IAF helicopter was pressed into service to extinguish the raging forest fires in Uttarakhand’s Nainital district on Saturday, a day after the flames reached the High Court Colony in the Pines area.

The blaze came dangerously close to the houses in the colony and an Army cantonment around five kilometres away from the Pines, prompting the response by authorities.

The Indian Air Force said a Mi-17 V5 helicopter was deployed to assist in the firefighting operations.

“With a forest fire building up in the vicinity of an Air Force Station near Nainital, #IAF activated its aerial fire fighting capability, employing a Mi-17 V5 helicopter for undertaking Bambi Bucket Ops,” it posted on ‘X’.

Forest officials said the helicopter collected water from the Naini and Bhimtal lakes in a Bambi bucket and poured it over the burning forests of the Pines, Bhumiadhar, Jyolikot, Narayan Nagar, Bhawali, Ramgarh and Mukteshwar areas.

 The bucket can hold up to 5,000 litres of water at a time.