A major fire erupted in the forest range of Zabarwan hills in the Brain-Nishat range in Srinagar during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, officials said.
They said the fire broke out on Sunday evening and spread in a vast area of the forest range of the Brain unit of Zabarwan hills.
A joint operation was launched by the Fire and Emergency Service, Wildlife department, Forest department and Police to bring the fire under control.
Fire and Emergency Service officials said the fire was still going on in a small patch and fire fighting teams were on the job to douse it.
The fire erupted most likely due to the negligence of the local people who are setting ablaze the bone fire for making coal in the area, they said.
Meanwhile, three residential houses were gutted in a major fire incident in Dangiwacha-Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district overnight. The cause of the fire was due to the gas leakage, they said.