Natural Resources Fire; Sartang Dehlran Engulfed in Flames

Over the course of one week, Iran’s forests and rangelands have witnessed 15 fire incidents. In the latest occurrence, five hectares of the Sartang Dehlran area fell victim to fire. A responsible official states that only 20 percent of fires in the environment have natural causes.

On Monday morning, June 9, the Sartang rangelands, the heights of “Khorbezan” and the forests of “Chalsai” and “Golzard” in Dehlran caught fire. The Dehlran governor states that the fire was contained after 4 hours with the help of natural resources groups and public forces, and the affected area was estimated at five hectares according to initial assessments.

The cause of the fire has not been announced, but the public relations officer of the Dehlran Governorate has advised the public to use nature and forests properly.

Three days earlier, the forest areas of “Khalyiz” and “Teshan” in Behbahan also experienced fires. This fire, which was attributed to lightning, was difficult to control due to the mountainous terrain and lack of equipment, including specialized helicopters.

The fire in Behbahan’s forest areas also involved parts of the Badil Tangeh Takab heights and Namdari in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad. Oak forests, rangelands, and sections of natural resources were burned in this fire, but a comprehensive assessment of damages has not yet been announced.

Fire in Dashti city in Bushehr, fire in Poldakhtar rangelands, fire in 321 hectares of Qom rangelands, and fire in 6 hectares of farms and rangelands in Ilam are other examples of fires in nature in recent weeks.

Colonel Ali Abbasnezad, commander of the protection unit of Iran’s Forest, Rangeland and Watershed Management Organization, announced that there were 15 fire incidents in the country’s forests and rangelands within one week. Acknowledging the shortage of firefighting equipment in the forest organization, he requested that people refrain from starting fires or discarding cigarette butts in forests and woodlands.

Nature’s Wrath; Human Anger

Lack of rainfall, dry air, and high temperatures are cited as reasons for fires in the environment, but responsible officials consider the human factor to be more involved in such fires. The commander of the protection unit of the forest organization states: “Only 20 percent of fires occur due to natural causes, and the rest are intentional.”

Another factor that causes fires in nature is the practice of some farmers who burn their crop residues with the goal of enriching the soil.

MohammadReza Tabesh, head of the environmental faction in parliament, referring to the Behbahan forest fires, said: “The start of this fire was in a protected area and the main cause was attributed to lightning, but there are rumors that in some areas where there are people’s gardens, local disputes and profiteering have caused this fire.”

He asked the environmental and natural resources officials of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad and Khuzestan to investigate the cause.

Tabesh also criticized the shortage of firefighting equipment and expressed hope that the government would allocate part of the flood budget to providing fire control equipment.

According to reports, the provinces of Ilam, Hormozgan, Khuzestan, and Bushehr do not have any water-dropping helicopters, and there is only one water-dropping helicopter in Kermanshah. Ilam province is known to have the least equipment for fighting fires and the most forest fires.

The director general of natural resources in Ilam stated that regarding fires, 90 critical and hyper-critical sensitive areas have been identified in the province, but there is insufficient equipment, and correspondences for stationing a helicopter in the province have remained unanswered to date.

Source: DW