Uttarakhand forest fire reaches boarding school in Himachal, causes panic

Kasauli: Panic gripped Lawrence school, Sanawar near Kasauli, on Monday as fire raging in adjoining forests advanced towards the school and students ran helter skelter with columns of smoke descending on the school complex.

The fires were brought under control and no damage was caused to the 169-year-old residential school and the situation was normal, said R Chauhan, a senior teacher of the school.

There was no cause for panic and all the students and the school complex is safe, he added.

Fire tenders were rushed to the forests which fought the flames for nearly two hours and brought them under control.

The forest officials said that it was ground fire caused by burning of dry pine needles and such fires are common during the summer and a number of fires has occurred in forests in Kasauli and surrounding areas but all these had been put out.

"The fires broke out in forests in Kasauli areas and forests surrounding the Sanawar School were also affected but the school complex was fully safe and fires have been extinguished", said Rakesh Kanwar, Deputy Commissioner, Solan.

A number of forest fires had occurred in these forests but all these were put out and the forest department and the local administration was taking necessary steps to ensure that fires are prevented and controlled.

He said that dry pine needles are highly inflammable and highly-prone to fires during summer.