BAJAUR: Hundreds of trees were destroyed when a mountain caught fire in a hilly locality of Salarzai tehsil of Bajaur tribal district, residents and Rescue 1122 officials said on Sunday.

They said the destroyed trees also included those planted by the forest department. They said the fire in Wadigram forest located some five kilometres from Pashat, the main town of Salarzai, erupted on Saturday afternoon.

A group of youths tried to put out the blaze but failed due to its intensity. Later, the people called Rescue 1122 firefighters. A rescue official in Khar told Dawn that Rescue 1122 firefighters and local people managed to put out the fire after efforts of several hours. The official said the wildfire had destroyed a large number of trees.

Meanwhile, the local forest department also confirmed on Sunday that scores of trees were destroyed in the fire.

A statement said the department on the directive of divisional forest officer Inam Khan had launched an investigation as to what caused the fire.

The statement said a team of forest officials also visited the locality to collect information about the possible causes of the blaze.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2021