Sri Lanka Air Force helicopters have been deployed to airlift seawater over the Anawilundawa Ramsar Wetland Sanctuary, where a fire that broke out on Wednesday was still spreading on Thursday.

The Ministry of Environment said a special joint operation involving the tri-forces had been launched to bring the blaze under control, NewsFirst reported. Seawater is being lifted and released over affected areas of the sanctuary.

Daily Mirror, filing earlier in the day, reported that wildlife officials, the armed forces, the Disaster Management Centre, the divisional secretariat and local residents had joined the effort on the ground, and that arrangements were then being made to deploy air force helicopters fitted with Bambi Buckets. NewsFirst’s later report described those aircraft as already operating.

Dry weather and wind hampering containment

Crews are working to stop the fire spreading rapidly amid dry conditions and strong winds, both of which are hindering containment, according to Daily Mirror. The operation is being run under the direction of the Minister of Environment, the deputy minister and the ministry secretary.

The cause has not been established. The Department of Wildlife Conservation and the security forces are investigating whether human activity, negligence or the prevailing dry weather contributed to the outbreak.

A protected wetland under drought stress

Anawilundawa, in the Puttalam district, is one of Sri Lanka’s Ramsar-listed wetlands of international importance, a system of ancient tanks and mangroves that supports large populations of migratory birds.

The fire comes as the island contends with a severe dry spell linked to the developing El Niño. The Environment Ministry said this week that the event has strengthened towards a “very strong” category, with emergency water distribution under way in six districts, and dry weather has already emptied small tanks across the dry zone.

Neither outlet reported, at that stage, the extent of the area burnt, any casualties, or damage estimates for the sanctuary’s wildlife. A first damage figure was issued two days later and is set out below.

Update (August 22): fire under control, about 7 acres damaged

The fire has been brought under control, the Ministry of Environment said on Saturday.

The ministry put the damage at approximately 7 acres, according to NewsFirst — the first estimate of the burnt area released since the blaze began on Wednesday.

It said the special joint operation that contained the fire involved wildlife officers, the tri-forces, disaster management officials, the Divisional Secretariat and local residents, with Air Force helicopters deployed to assist in extinguishing it.

The ministry did not say when the fire was declared under control, whether it had been fully extinguished, or what the 7 acres comprised — the sanctuary is a mosaic of tanks, mangrove and scrub, and the ecological cost of the burn depends on which of those burned.

Update (August 22, evening): eight acres, sabotage investigation opened

Daily Mirror reported on Saturday afternoon that the fire had been brought fully under control, and put the damage at approximately eight acres — a slightly higher figure than the roughly 7 acres NewsFirst reported that morning. Both attribute the estimate to the Ministry of Environment; neither explains the difference.

Environment Deputy Minister Anton Jayakody inspected the affected area on Saturday and discussed the damage and measures needed to strengthen conservation of the wetland.

A special investigation is under way to determine whether the fire was deliberately set or involved sabotage. “If this was intentional or an act of sabotage, maximum legal action will be taken against those responsible,” Jayakody said, according to Daily Mirror.

The fire had spread for nearly two days amid dry weather and strong winds. Daily Mirror reported that the response was triggered by alerts from several parties including the chairman of the Arachchikattuwa Pradeshiya Sabha, and that Air Force helicopters fitted with Bambi Buckets were deployed with the assistance of Deputy Minister of Defence Aruna Jayasekara. It described the sanctuary as covering more than 3,000 hectares.

Jayakody also said steps would be taken to urgently reconstruct the bund of the Anawilundawa reservoir, which was breached following Cyclone Ditwah. The government plans to restore the reservoir before the coming monsoon, with technical assistance from national expert institutions and engineers.

The state broadcaster ITN, reporting the deputy minister’s remarks in Sinhala, put the target more precisely: the aim is to have an ecosystem hospitable to migratory birds and other wildlife re-established by December and January, the months when the sanctuary’s migrant populations arrive. ITN also gave the burnt area as about eight acres, matching Daily Mirror’s figure rather than the roughly seven acres NewsFirst reported that morning, and named the Sri Lanka Police among the agencies that took part in the operation.

Sources