Third Wildfire in 20 Days Ravages Zhob’s Pine Nut Forests
News Desk
Islamabad: A massive wildfire has erupted once again in the pine nut forests of Zhob Division, Balochistan marking the third such blaze in just 20 days—causing damage worth millions of rupees and raising serious concerns about forest fire management in the region.
According to local media reports, the fire has ravaged vast stretches of the ecologically and economically significant chilgoza (pine nut) forests. Local authorities remain ill-equipped to effectively battle the flames, struggling against strong seasonal winds and the lack of modern firefighting tools.
In a separate incident, wildfires were also reported in Murree, where flames broke out at two locations: the forest area adjacent to Expressway Manga and Forest No. 2 in Phagwari. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sudheer Mughal confirmed that fire teams were dispatched immediately and assured that containment efforts were underway.
The ongoing wave of wildfires comes on the heels of several recent destructive forest fires. On January 10, a major blaze engulfed large swathes of the Koh-i-Suleman forest range in Darra Zinda tehsil, damaging areas rich in pine, olive, and other native tree species. The fire broke out at multiple points, including Tajori village in the north and Al-Mar-Kalan in the south, destroying rare flora and displacing wildlife.
Rescue 1122 officials attributed the repeated fires to seasonal wind patterns and the common local practice of burning dry grass, which often spirals out of control. Forest Department sources noted that such blazes are now an annual occurrence, made worse by climate change and inadequate firefighting infrastructure.
Despite the challenges, a coordinated response by Rescue 1122 and the Wildlife Department helped contain the January blaze using manual firefighting methods, including smothering and fire starvation in hard-to-reach mountainous areas.
This year’s fires are reminiscent of the catastrophic blaze of October 31, 2024, which devastated pine nut forests in Dera Ismail Khan and quickly spread to the Sherani District of Balochistan. The fire had raged for days, with strong winds hindering containment efforts. It was only subdued after intervention by the Frontier Corps, local levies, and a specialized Iranian firefighting aircraft, the Ilyushin-76, flown in for aerial operations.
Earlier, in 2022, the same region witnessed one of the worst forest fires in Pakistan’s recent history, destroying hundreds of pine nut trees and threatening biodiversity.
The repeated outbreaks highlight the urgent need for a national forest fire management strategy, better equipment, and community-based prevention mechanisms to protect Pakistan’s endangered forest ecosystems.
Input from 24 news.
