By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
With the risk of forest fires remaining high during the summer in Uttarakhand, ace author Ruskin Bond has appealed to the people to remain careful and cooperate with the Forest Department in containing their spread in the hill state.
In a video released by the forest department, Bond is talking about the reasons for the spread of jungle fires during the summer period.
“Forest fires are nothing new. We always had them. Every summer the season comes around April, May and June its dry, there’s not much rain. The undergrowth dries up. So it is easy for a fire to spread. So some fires start accidently, some start through carelessness, or some even then start deliberately. So there are various reasons for these fires to start but these fires start rapidly. As you know in Uttarakhand we have a great deal of forest cover, we don’t want to lose any of it. I appeal to the public to cooperate with the forest department. The forest department is doing its best, it always has. I have been observing it over the years. And in the meantime, be careful, don’t let fire spread,” he said.
“And if you are living near forests, be extra careful,” Bond said in his appeal.
Since Feb 15 this year, 70 forest incidents have been reported in the state affecting 62.42 hectare of forests in the state, a forest bulletin issued on Friday said. No human casualty has been reported so far. Rains in the hill state in the past few days have stopped the spread of forest fires in the state, a forest official said.