10 acres of forest land destroyed

4 September 2011 01:30 pm

An area extending up to 10 acres in the Imaduwa State Timber Reserve in Laggala was completely destroyed due to a wild fire, police media spokesman Prishantha Jayakody said.

The fire was doused after a long operation. Authorities are conducting investigations into the fire to probe the cause of the fire. The fire started on Saturday evening. The value of the timber that was destroyed due to the fire is yet to be established. No injuries or casualties were reported during the fire. The forest officers were assisted by the Laggala police, Laggala forest office and the villagers of the area.

The Forest Conservation Department says that the fire that was spreading fast due to dry weather conditions. The difficulty in access to the origin of the fire contributed to the delay in extinguishing it. (Supun Dias)