Forest Fires Declining

There has been a 30% decline in the number of wildfires and the area they burn during the first three months of the current Iranian year (started March 21) compared with the same period of last year, highlighting the effectiveness of measures taken by forest authorities, the deputy head of the Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organization said.

Speaking to IRNA, Nasser Moqaddasi also provided the latest details, saying that in March 21–June 21 forest fires burned 1,500 hectares of land—around 30% less than the same period of last year when fires burnt 2,300 hectares of woodlands.

"The decline is thanks to the efficient and preemptive measures taken by the officials and organizations," he said.

Forest and environment officials have teamed up to set up emergency response headquarters in high-risk areas and instruct teams for emergency response in every province. They've also placed choppers in 14 vulnerable provinces and held wildfire drills for the third year in a row.

About 95% of all wildfires are caused by humans, 85% of which are accidental. On average, forest fires inflict losses worth about 3.2 trillion rials ($85.3 million).

Authorities say the efforts should be focused on preventing the outbreak of fires by educating local communities.

A number of forest fires have broken out in the past few months but unlike the past when they would burn for days, the fires were tamed within hours, thanks to close cooperation between firefighting teams and local residents.