Nearly 200 acres have been destroyed due to a forest fire at the Knuckles Forest Reserve, the police said today. The fire which is burning since Friday night at the Hunnasgiriya Hills due to the dry weather in the forest range has already destroyed more than 160 acres and continues to spread due to high winds. The heavy winds even forced a Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter to which attempted to extinguish the fire to return.
No injuries have been reported yet. The authorities are taking measures to control the fire, the police said. 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 islands flowering plant species.