Two major forest fires in the Uttarakhand region in this decade have caused irreparable loos, pushing back forest growth by almost a hundred years. This year along, devastating fires had engulfed more than 70,000 hectares of forests in the Uttarakhand region comprising Garhwal and Kumaon Himalayas. In 1995, more than 93,000 hectares of forests in the region were reduced to ashes due to forest fires, says the study by the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO).