Berhampur: A massive fire broke out inside Chilka, Asia’s largest salt water lake under the Tangi range, on Thursday night.Although the exact cause of the fire is not known, wildlife officials suspect that the accident was man-made. “Some mischievous elements might have set fire to the Nala grass inside the lagoon, which has dried up in the summer. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Chilka, Amlan Nayak said, we will investigate the matter to identify the culprit and arrest the miscreants.The fire, which started in patches of drain grass inside the lagoon – which is home to many residential and migratory birds and fishing cats – spread quickly due to high-speed winds. Forest personnel from different ranges of Chilka Wildlife Division reached the spot to extinguish the fire. However, they faced difficulty in approaching the fire in the mud as the water level in the lake had dropped significantly due to the scorching sun.Despite difficulties, forest personnel brought the fire under control by spraying water from the lagoon through pipes, said Amlan Nayak, divisional forest officer (DFO), Chilka.Boatmen generally set fire to the Nala grass to keep their boats sailing smoothly, a forest official said. “Earlier, we had conducted an awareness campaign among the people of the area not to burn drain grass in summer,” said Chitrasen Jena, Tangi wildlife range officer.Residential birds usually nest in the bushes of Nala grass.The DFO said that fishing cats, elusive animals, as well as birds might have migrated to other places after seeing the fire.