Almost a month-long battle against fires burning forests across the country, which took lives and destroyed property, has ended, thanks to divine intervention.

The fire incidents that got intense from mid-March spread over 72 districts, destroying around 3.5 million hectares of forest and leaving at least 12 people dead.

The active pre-monsoon phase since early this week that brought scattered rains and thundershowers, particularly in the hills and mountainous regions along with some places in western Tarai, provided much needed relief in the affected areas.

Bushfires—which were recorded between 320 and 350 in the past week—fell to zero on Friday and Saturday due to the rains, satellite images showed.

A total of 352 active forest fires across 50 districts were reported on May 1, followed by 40 on May 2, 26 on May 3 and 1 on May 4. The satellite images shared by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration showed no traces of blaze in the past two days.

The forest authorities were praying for rains to douse the flames as the government did not have efficient means to control the blazes.

Fires are reported across the country between February and May, and peak during March and April every year. This year, the prolonged dry spell and windy conditions resulted in one of the worst cases of forest fire in more than a decade.