TEHRAN — Raging wildfire erupted in Khaeez protected area in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, southwestern Iran, was controlled, ISNA news agency reported on Friday.

According to the report the fire broke out in the area on Thursday evening in Khaeez protected area. The stretch, measuring 28,000 hectares, is one the main habitats for wild goats.

Being impassable has made any fire-fighting operation almost impossible and only helicopters could reach the area, the report added.

Some 400 hectares of the area is affected by the wildfire, the report concluded.

Kohgiluyeh governor, Ja’far Nikbakht, told ISNA news agency that fierce wind has made the operations much more difficult.

Nikbakht went on to say that lightening caused the fire and the extent of the loss incurred on the protected area is yet to be estimated.

In early May Hamid Zohrabi, DOE deputy chief for natural environment and biodiversity directorate said that in the current year (started on March 21), above-normal precipitation and increased vegetation covers can dramatically heighten the risks of wildfires, however, due to slower-than-usual temperature rise in many regions in the country it is projected that wildfire season might be delayed.

Ali Abbas Nejad, commander of forest protection unit at Forest Rangelands and Watershed Management Organization (FRWO) also said that the incidence of wildfires have decreased by 130% in the Iranian calendar months of Farvardin (March 21-April 20) compared to the same period last year.

MQ/