1,000 trees destroyed in fire near Ramanathapuram
A fortnight after more than 800 palm trees were destroyed in a fire at Athiyuthu off East Coast Road (ECR), a major fire broke out in palm, coconut and casuarina groves, spread on about five acres of land near Periyapattinam, on Wednesday, destroying more than 1,000 trees.
On being alerted about the wild fire, apparently caused by lighted beedi or cigarette butts, Fire and Rescue Services personnel, led by R.M. Ilango, Station Fire Officer, Ramanathapuram, put out the fire after struggling for more than two hours.
The fire, which broke out in the afternoon, spread fast, thanks to the gusty winds. The dry grass and palm and coconut fronds lying on the ground in the farms helped the fire spread easily, local people said.
Fire service personnel had a tough time, walking into the groves, braving thorny bushes. With much difficulty, they finally extinguished the fire with the help of the local people, Mr. Ilango said.
About 500 coconut trees and an equal number of palm and casuarina trees were destroyed in the fire, S. Sethu Jalaludheen, a resident of Periyapattinam, said. After fire service personnel put out the fire and left the area, a fire broke out again from the embers in the evening and the fire fighters rushed back to contain it, he said.
The groves were located away from residential areas and no one was injured in the fire, police said. Deputy Superintendent of Police (Kilakarai) Maheswari and Tahsildar Dharmar supervised the fire fighting operation.
This was the third major fire in palm groves since July. More than 1,000 palm trees were destroyed when a fire broke out at a grove in Valantharavai near Oil and Natural Gas Commission’s Gas Collection Station (GCS) in July. The second was the Athiyuthu fire.
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