A massive fire in a high altitude settlement in Dhorpatan Municipality-9, Baglung, destroyed 30 houses on Sunday morning.

There was no human casualty as most of the houses were empty. The cause of the fire is unknown and investigation is underway, said police.  

The fire started in Nabi settlement near the office of Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve around 2am.

Nepal Army (NA) soldiers deployed for the reserve security rushed to the incident site immediately and contained the inferno.

According to the District Police Office in Baglung, NA deployed 123 soldiers in the settlement to fight the fire.

The NA soldiers deployed from Hanumandhwoj Battalion swung into action promptly, protecting 23 other houses in the clustered settlement. The troopers doused the fire in six hours. Local residents assisted them.

The settlement remained deserted recently as most local residents shifted to lower altitude with sheep and cattle to avoid the severe cold.

There were only few people in the settlement as caretakers when the incident happened.

Preliminary police investigation shows the fire destroyed properties worth around Rs 32.8 million, police said.

Superintendent of Police Dipak Regmi said, “There were only few people in the settlement. There were no human casualties as well as animals in the incident. The houses, food grains, clothes and other belongings were destroyed in the fire.”

Most residents had built their houses in the settlement with wooden planks and thatched-roofs.

Most villagers in the settlement earn their livelihood from animal husbandry. A majority of them moved to Bobang area in the first week of November with their

livestock after temperature dropped to unbearably cold level.