Forest fire in Sri Lanka's Knuckles Range still raging

Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Center has said today (24) that the forest fire started in the Knuckles Range on Friday (22) night is still continuing.

The Center told the media today that the Police, Army, and Wildlife Department have launched a joint operation to douse the fire.
Disaster Management Ministry's Kandy Coordinator Major Kamal Herath told media that Air Force assistance was requested in order to extinguish the fire but the strong winds and high levels of mist in the area made it impossible for Sri Lanka Air Force helicopters to fly over the fire.

He added that so far approximately 20 hectares of land have been engulfed by the flames and destroyed.

The Knuckles Forest range, added as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July this year covers parts of Kandy and Matale districts and is home to almost one-third of the island's flowering plant species.