HARIPUR: Wildfires continued to consume plants and vegetation at mountains and forests in four different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday as firefighters scrambled to douse the flames.

       A forest fire that started on Sunday continued to rage in the Makhniyal range of Khanpur tehsil, burning down trees over several acres of forest and prompting the administrations of Haripur and Islamabad to swing into action to control the blaze.

       Reports said that the blaze also threatened the house of First Lady Tehmina Durrani, located in the Whispering Pines Resort in Makhniyal.

       Forest officials and police confirmed that the wildfire that erupted from the private forest land of Kotla village on Sunday travelled to the reserved forest after damaging trees of different species over a vast area.

       The fire, which was yet to be brought under control, also reached the limits of Whispering Pines Resort, a private housing area of Makhniyal.

       When contacted, Haripur district forest officer Farhad Khan said that his teams of firefighters were busy putting out the blaze, but strong winds had been making their job difficult.

       He said that around 80 hectares of forest land in the areas of Kotla, Neelan Bhoto and Khariyan, comprising of both reserved and private property, was damaged and the cause of fire was being investigated.

       In Shangla, wildfires erupted in two more mountains on Tuesday, defacing the natural beauty of the district.

       However, the blaze that broke out on Monday on the mountains of the district headquarters, Alpuri, was extinguished on Tuesday.

       Rescue 1122 spokesperson Rasool Khan told this correspondent that fire erupted at Shang area of Bisham tehsil and Tarkanu Banda of Puran tehsil. The Rescue 1122 and forest teams put out the fire after hectic efforts.

       In Swabi, Ghani Chathra Mountain in Gadoon Amazai caught fire here on Tuesday, said Rescue 1122 officials.

       They said that the local people were also helping the firefighters to put out the fire, but it was difficult to get close to the blaze at some sections.

       In Kohat, a fire erupted in the jungle of Kalakhel mountains of Darra Adamkhel on Tuesday.

       The fire was doused by Rescue 1122 staff with tree branches as the fire engine could not reach the spot.

       Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2022