MURREE, June 10: The forests in Murree have been plagued by ‘deliberate’ fire incidents with the start of summer season as the all-powerful mafia is trying to cover up large-scale timber theft by reducing the evidence to ashes.

Fire broke out in several jungles during the last 24 hours and the forest department failed to save scores of trees with the timber value estimated at millions of rupees.

Flames engulfed the woodlands of Ghora Gali, Mohra Syedan, Charehan, Sehrgran, Forest No. 30 Phofandi on Saturday. Similarly, fire was also reported in the forest of Lehtrar, Kotli Sattiyan.

Locals alleged that the fire could not be controlled due to the adoption of a “faulty” strategy and lack of interest on the part of the forest department’s staff.

They said the officials failed to put out the flames despite getting a huge amount from the government to prevent such incidents. In this regard, Rs400,000 were given to the forest department in April and the same amount was announced for subsequent months during the summer season.

Criticising the department for the ineffective fire control strategy, they appealed to the higher authorities to hold a detailed inquiry into the fire incidents.

Divisional Forest Officer Murree Malik Ameer Hussain, when contacted, said almost the entire staff had been called in to tackle the blaze.

He said after struggling for the whole night, they overcame the fire in Compartment 57 of the forest, but in the morning fire again broke out in Compartment 58. The firefighters were trying to extinguish the flames, he added.

About the Forest No. 30 Phofandi, he said the area did not fall in his jurisdiction and was being looked after by the New Murree Development Authority.