Several hill districts of Uttar Pradesh experienced rain on May 9 and 10 after an abnormally long dry spell which began in October last. To many hilly regions, including Tehri in Garhwal and Nainital in Kumaon, the rain brought respite from forest fires that had reached unprecedented levels during the last 45 days. According to the State Forest Department, on an average about 75 to 100 fires broke out every day, most of them in Kumaon and Garhwal. According to senior forest officials, 60,000 hectares of forest land has been affected. April and May are considered to be the "season of forest fire" in U. P., but the fires this time were prolonged.