Forest fire in himachal Pradesh

Forest Fire:Forest fire is a major cause of degradation of forest. With increasing population pressure, the forest cover of the country is deteriorating at an alarming rate. The forests of the Himachal Pradesh are more prone to forest fire compared to forests in other parts of India due to various biotic and geographic reasons. In Himachal Pradesh the recorded forest area is 10, 46900 hectares, of which around 9, 74800 hectares cropped area is fire prone. In Shimla district around 69% of the total area have a history of forest fires and in districts of Chamba, LahaulSpiti and Kinnaur it is 44.9% of the total area experience forest fires in summer and 20% area is prone to frequent fires.
About 90 % of forest fires are due to intentional or unintentional human interventions. In state like Himachal, forest fires also have a close link with livelihood. People residing within forests or nearby areas are dependent on forests for their source of income and for day to day fuel requirements. At times they ignite forests for collection of forest produce or for improving the productivity. Some fires are caused due to poor knowledge and the negligence of the people.  Throwing burning cigarettes and cooking food in the forest are such causes of forest fire. Remaining 10 % of forest fires are due to natural processes such as lightning, increase in temperature during summer etc.
The magnitude of forest fires as disaster can be gauged from the number of fire incidents