Bandipur National Park

ISRO

FIERY FIGURES FROM FOREST

The fire began on February 21 and raged on till February 25

No fire has been reported on February 26

Maximum damage happened on February 24 and 25

On February 24, fire had spread to 4,469 acres of forest area

The fire was doused only after the IAF stepped in to help on February 25

Satellite maps generated by ISRO show which areas of the forest have been badly affect

The fire monitoring is carried from February to June as these are critical months

By Reya MehrotraOn Tuesday, the National Remote Sensing Centre at Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in Hyderabad released an assessment report calculating the damage caused after the fire at. The report suggests that approximately 10,920.92 acres of the Bandipur area was burnt in the wildfire and that most of the damage happened on February 24 and 25. According to, only 53.1 acres of land was burnt on February 23, while on February 24, fire had spread to 4,469.24 acres of the forest area. The fire was doused after the Indian Air Force stepped in using helicopters to spray water on February 25.ISRO carries out forest fire monitoring in Bandipur Forest every year from February to June, as these months are the most critical when it comes to forest fires. Real time forest fire alerts are generated using three sensors installed – MODIS, VIIRS-750 m and VIIRS-375 m. The fire alerts were generated to the departments, through the sensors on February 21 when the forest fire is said to have started. However, the officials were unable to stop the fire from spreading due to wind speed.The sensors suggest that the period from February 21 to 25 was ‘intense fire period’ and that no fires were reported within the Bandipur Park area on February 26. Currently, the forest department plans to sow bamboo seeds for the forest to regrow.ISRO has also generated satellite maps to suggest what all areas of the forest have been damaged.