Massive fire breaks out in Amrabad forest area

NAGARKURNOOL: A massive fire broke out in the Amrabad tiger reserve on Tuesday, with flames spreading to up to two km and putting the lives of the Chenchu tribals at risk. 

The blaze was seen from the Octopus Viewpoint on the Srisailam-Hyderabad highway right up to the Neelaram Rocks.

Amrabad FRO Jakkula Prabhakar informed Express that the fire started to spread at around 6 pm on Monday and they were alerted five hours later, around 11 pm. 

Two teams were formed, which controlled the fire by 2 am next morning. Prabhakar said some hay and dry fodder caught fire, which later spread to 20 hectares. 

Forest fires are a common occurrence in the Nallamala forest during the summer, with hundreds of acres of forest cover getting reduced to ashes every year.

However, the source of these fires remain a mystery as the blaze seems to always break out at night.