KATHMANDU, Jan 30: A forest fire in Manang has destroyed around 800 hectares of forest in the past five days.

Despite continuous efforts to douse the fire by the locals and officials there, the forest fire has gone out of control.

According to local officials there, less rain and snowfall this year resulted in the catastrophe.

Naso Municipality-6, 7 and 8 in the district has been witnessing forest fire for the past five days.

Upper Manang has been frequently reporting forest fire for the past few months. It has been assumed that the Annapurna Conservation Area has lost more than 1,500 hectares of forest to fire just in the past one month.

According to Lekhnath Gautam, chief of Annapurna Conservation Area Project, the forest fire is now posing a huge threat to human settlement. “The area that is currently being gutted by the fire is the habitat for endangered wild flora and fauna,” he added.

Strong winds and sloppy land structures are making the fire control work further difficult as the villages have been engulfed in smoke due to the raging forest fire.

 
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