The Forest fire in Ella area was not due to natural causes! –  Disaster Management Center

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Recently, a forest fire broke out in Ella area. This fire started in the mountainous area in Ravana Ella waterfall. This Ravana Ella forest reserve is famous for its rich biodiversity. The mainstream news had reported that 600 acres of land has been destroyed by this fire and that there was a possibility of rockfall from the respective mountain area to the Ella Wellawaya Road. Many people drew various speculations regarding this through social media. How did this fire occur? In this article, we focus on the reasons for this.

How the forest fire started?

The forest fire broke out a few days ago, which is on the 13^th of February. Mr. Udaya Kumara, Badulla district Head of the Disaster Management Center, told us that the fire has been completely contained now.

A man-made fire

He further stated that when considering the area where the fire broke out, it is clear that the fire was not a natural occurrence but rather a man-made fire. However, he mentioned that this type of fire has been happening in Ella area for a long time. He further stated that these fires occur due to the careless activities of many people, as they set fires in forest areas to hunt animals and also to prepare the land for cattle farming. He also mentioned that some people get some mental satisfaction by setting fire in this way.

Climate Change

Mr. Udaya Kumara described that usually climatic conditions stimulate these forest fires and the prevailing dry climate and the lack of rain has resulted in the vast spread of the fire.

Forest Fires are not a new situation in Ella

These types of forest fires are not uncommon in the Ella area. Even if we observe the periods of the last 10-15 years, we can see news related to these types of fire. You can view similar reported news from here and here.

Why were helicopters not used?

Ruwan Ranasinghe, Minister of Tourism, commenting on this situation stated that helicopters were not used to put out the fire, because he was informed by the relevant officials that using of helicopters has not been successful in previous years. We inquired about this from the Badulla District Disaster Management Director. He mentioned that even in past years helicopters were used only when there weren’t any other options to put out the fire and when the fire has vastly spread. However, this time they have been able to put out the fire within 2 to 3 days without the use of helicopters.

The Air Force Spokesperson told us that no one requested helicopters from him and if the Disaster Management Center or the relevant authorities has made a request, there was a possibility of providing helicopters.

A change in dry weather conditions at the end of February

Mr. Janaka Kumarage, who is a meteorologist in the Department of Meteorology mentioned that by the end of February, there will be a change in the dry weather condition and most probably there will be rain. Commenting further, he stated that the fire was spread more widely due to the prevailing weather conditions and as well as because of the dry and fast monsoons coming through the Indian subcontinent. However, hopefully there will be rain by the end of February. He mentioned that the prevailing dry weather condition throughout the country is a typical condition in the month of February and further stated that due to the effect of global climate change, the hot weather conditions have increased.

Police Investigations are ongoing – no arrests have been made so far

The head of Ella Police station who spoke to us regarding this stated that he believes that this is not a natural forest fire but rather a man-made fire. However, he mentioned that no one has been arrested so far, and that police investigations are ongoing regarding it.

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