The Charkose jungle along the tarai is bearing the brunt of forest fires this dry season. It's an annual affair, but this year the situation is more serious. In the stretch of forest between Patlaiya and Rautahat, millions of rupees worth of logs and forest have gone up in smoke. Smoke billowing from the jungles has even caused difficulties to residents in the area and the passengers traveling through the East-West Highway. Most of the 14,000 hectares of the forest coverage in Rautahat is now threatened, and the District Forest Office says it doesn't have the budget to fight the fire.

Villages in the forests are also threatened, and local people have to remain awake all night to stop the spreading flames. In the hills, the forests in the Rolwaling area of Dolakha have also been burning out of control for a week.