A fire that broke in the plains of Dehbar-Aftab Village in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province on Friday was extinguished by the firefighters of Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organization (FRWO).
“On Friday, a part of forests and pastures of the village caught fire for the third time in the past couple of weeks,” said Mohammad Rahim Borzmand, the head of the protection unit at the provincial FRWO, IRNA reported.
Preliminary investigation into the incident indicates that the fire was manmade, “so most likely it was started by campers”, said Seyyed Asadollah Hashemi, the head of the provincial office of the Department of Environment.
“The extent of the damage is still unclear, but the fire reached areas with towering oak trees … We hope to have to more information to share in subsequent reports,” Hashemi added.
According to the provincial DOE, last week, about 30 hectares of Dehbar-Aftab’s unspoiled landscape were torched, raising the total area of forests damaged by fires in the province to 527 hectares in the current Iranian year (started March 20).
Hashemi urged tourists to help preserve the environment by exercising due diligence when lighting campfires and smoking in wooded areas.
With over 87% of its 15,504 square km area covered in forests and rangelands, Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad is one of the greenest provinces in Iran.
Based on figures released by the provincial office of FRWO, in the last Iranian year that ended on March 19, more than 1,300 hectares of the province’s forests turned to ash as a result of wildfires, most of which were caused by human negligence.
