KHOST (SW) – Officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) say a recent fire in the pine tree forests in Khost province has burned five acres of area.
A spokesman for the ministry, Misbah-ud-Din Mustaeen, told Salam Watandar that the forest fires in Musa Khel and Qalandar districts of Khost had been contained with the help of local people, but that five acres of forest had been burned and destroyed.
According to him, no one was injured in the blaze and there is a possibility of the blaze again.
“Around 5 acres of forest has been burnt down,” he said. “Locals say the nomads were lying here and had fled two days before the fire broke out. Any fire left over from them could have started a fire.”
On the other hand, Bashir Ahmad Osmani, director of information and culture in Khost, told Salam Watandar that the fires have been brought under control and a delegation has gone to the area to discuss the issue.
He said efforts were being made to control the blaze as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, residents of Musa Khel district said that the fire has been raging since Sunday, which has been brought under control with the support of the tribes, especially the youth.
Safiullah Khurami, a professor at Kabul University and a forest expert, said there was a need for authorities to take special security measures to protect forests.
He said that the absence of rains, given the warmer weather and drought, could lead to caused forest fires and the spread of fires.
It is noteworthy that a similar fire broke out in Kunar and Nuristan mountains last month.
Officials at the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) said they had sent a delegation to the area to assess the situation in Kunar and Nuristan to take measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
According to them, special forest protection units will be set up across the country and bases will be set up near each forest to search for people going to the forests.
ENDS
