Knuckles wildfire controlled by Army

Chamikara WEERASINGHE

The Sri Lanka Army brought the wildfire that was spreading across the Knuckles mountain under control within three days.

The Disaster Management Center yesterday announced that the soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army brought the fire under control by constructing fire lines to keep the fire from spreading.

More than 200 soldiers worked on the strategy and stopped the fire from raging at 3 pm, said Center's Deputy Director Lal Kumara.

The fire has destroyed 600 acres of forest cover in the Knuckles Range. It has scorched hundreds of large trees in the Knuckles mountain range, such as phyllanthis indica, crateara religiosa, sterculia foetida, and bombex.

The fire began in Yahangla area on Sunday and spread through the forest quickly with the velocity of the winds helping in its spread. The fire broke out due to drought conditions in the country, according to Forest Department sources.