Ranchi: The forests of Jharkhand are on fire. Abetted by the relentless summer heat, more than 800 hectares of forest has been reduced to ashes since March in the state where the total forest cover at present stands at 23,605sq km. On April 9, fires broke out in as many as 14 places, including Palamau Tiger Reserve, Saranda, Latehar and Garhwa. According to forest department officials, the blazes had been doused at most places. State nodal officer for the fire monitoring cell, Diksha Kumari Prasad, said though the April 9 fire at Palamau had been controlled, a new fire broke out at the tiger reserve on Saturday. To monitor forest fires in summer, the forest department had set up a geographic information system (GIS) cell. Prasad added that another fire had been reported from the Hazaribagh forests yesterday, but the exact location was not known.