Palakkad: A huge fire broke out on Cherad hill in Palakkad district on Thursday evening and is still continuing to burn, a forest official said.

The blaze was noticed around 4 PM and immediately fire and forest officials rushed to the spot.

Being an uninhabited rocky area, vehicles cannot go up there and therefore, officials of the fire and forest department are trying to control the blaze by digging trenches around it.

The official said that the fire was most likely man-made, but it spread quickly and is still going strong as there is a lot of dry bush available to fuel it due to the extreme heat during the day.

It is difficult to accurately state how much area has been affected by the fire, he said.

No one was hurt and no forested areas were affected, he added.

PTI