Jagadev Kurmi, 60, Ayodhya Kurmi, 50, and Sagi Kurmi, 40, died in the fire that also injured around 25 persons and damaged around 50 houses.
The fire is said to have started at 11 am and it was out of control until 3 pm despite all-round effort to douse it.
Meanwhile, five persons were injured in a fire that broke out at a community forest in Dhurkot-7 of Nawalparasi. Among those injured was the treasurer of the Rithuwarna Community Forest Users´ Group Krishna Bir Baraghare, said the president Dhan Bahadur Thapa. Bala Bahadur Somai Magar, Chandra Kali Gaha Magar, Padam Bahadur Surya Banshi and Devi Singh Gaha Mahar were also injured.
The fire broke out on Sunday morning and locals were engaged in dousing it till Monday morning. Over 150 hectares of forest were reportedly destroyed in the fire which is feared to spread into the surrounding settlements.
Similarly, a fire that has been flaring up in another forest in Dhurkot for four days now has frightened locals. Fire in many places in Nawalparasi has not been controlled for several days, officials said.
According to Area Forest Office Kawasoti, over 10,000 hectors of jungle areas were destroyed by fire over the past one week. The most affected are Dumkibas and Arunkhola where around 5,000 hectares of forest were damaged in the blaze. Other areas like Kumarbarti, Moula Malika and Madhya Bindhu have also been affected.
"The flames suddenly break out covering over 50 hectares at a time and we simply lack resources to tackle the wildfires well" said Krishna Raj Neupane, an officer at Area Forest Office, Kawasoti.
Chief District Officer Tek Raj Gyawali said there was not yet any concerted effort to douse the fire as the administration was so far engaged in collecting information.
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