Himachal amends policy for use of pine needles as fuel in industries :

1. The Himachal Pradesh government gave approval to amend policy for collection and encourage use of pine needles as fuel in industrial units to reduce forest fires in the state. 

2. A government spokesperson said the policy for collection and removal of pine needles from forest areas in order to reduce fire hazards will be amended to encourage stakeholders to work for removal the highly inflammable needles.The policy would also encourage the industries to use pine needles as a fuel.

3. It is worthwhile to mention here that majority of fires in forests in Himachal were caused in pine tree forests as they are highly inflammable and this results in extensive damage to the forests.The pine forests in the state are found upto 5,500 feet and these trees sheds needles in summers that have rich content of turpentine oil, a highly inflammable content.

Incidences of Forest Fires in Himachal Pradesh :

In Himachal, forest fires are an annual and widespread phenomenon. Most fires are witnessed during summers, when the forests become littered with dry senescent leaves and twinges thereby increasing the probability of starting and spreading of fire. 

The Forests of Himachal Pradesh known for their grandeur and majesty are like a green pearl in the Himalayan crown.This life supporting systems are presently under great stress due to impact of modern civilization, economic development and growth in human and cattle population. The forests of Himachal Pradesh are rich in vascular flora, which forms the conspicuous vegetation cover. Out of total 45,000 species of plants found in the country as many as 3,295 species (7.32%) are reported in the State. More than 95% of species are endemic to Himachal and characteristic of Western Himalayan flora, while about 5% (150 species) are exotic introduced over the last 150 years. Over the years the forest wealth of the State is being destroyed by the incidences of fire attributed to both anthropogenic and other reasons. The destruction of rich flora and fauna of the State due to forest fires will have serious repercussions on the ecological balance of the State. The rich forest wealth of the State has been subjected to the numerous fire incidences. 

The majority of districts in HP are under high to very high fire risk zones. Within each of these high risk districts, more than 56% of area are prone to or have the possibility of being affected by fires. For example, Sirmaur has around 86% of its area under high to very high risk zone followed by Hamirpur (78%), Shimla (74%) and Mandi (73%). The district of Solan has experienced maximum number of forest files over the last 8 years (since 2005) followed by Una and Mandi. But the extent of fire damage has been found to be more in the district of Shimla followed by Kangra and Chamba.