The Forest Department has made elaborate arrangements to prevent and control fires during the summer. Special attention will be paid to sensitive and fire-prone areas. Fire lines have been made to prevent fire from spreading and local people are being motivated to protect forests. Rapid response teams, armed with fire-fighting equipment, have been put in place in the fire-prone areas. Forest officials attended meetings of gram sabhas held early this month to create awareness about the fire hazards and underlined the need for community participation in combating forest fires. Pamphlets have been distributed among the functionaries of panchayati raj institutions and mahila and yuvak mandals to educate them about precautionary measures to be taken to prevent fires. Control rooms have been set up in every forest division and forest range headquarters. The police, ITBP, district fire officers and the Army had also been requested to render assistance to the Forest Department. The telephone numbers for various forest ranges are: Mashobra-9418452790, Bhajji-9418088022, Dhami-98160-18491, Koti-9418104229 and Tara Devi -9418107137.