Raging fires in several key forests in the country have had a serious impact on the vegetation in five locations. Forest fires broke out once again on Sunday on the slopes of the Knuckles Mountain Range – a world heritage site.

This is the third instance of forest fires in the Knuckles Range within the space of a week.

An estimated 12 acres of the Gal Oya reserve has been destroyed in a forest fire that broke out on Saturday afternoon near the Habarana -Trincomalee Main Road.

Meanwhile, a forest fire also broke out in the Kalawalaragama Reserve in Monaragala over the past 24 hours. The Sri Lanka Air Force too was seen assisting in the fire fighting effort throughout the day on Saturday.

However, prevailing weather conditions are proving a major obstacle for the firefighters.Forest fires can be ignited by natural causes or they could be acts of arson.

Regardless of the cause however, is there nothing that can be done to prevent the destruction of precious forests which are crucial to Sri Lanka’s unique eco-systems and bio-diversity?

Is this truly unpreventable?

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