Wildfires torch forests amid burning questions on origin

As raging wildfires continue to devour vast swathes of forestland in Makueni County, opinion is sharply divided over what could be causing the destructive outbreaks.

Thousands of acres have been torched in the past three weeks, county Kenya Forest Service (KFS) manager Evans Maneno told Nation.

The semi-arid county, which has been working aggressively towards growing its forest cover past the 13 per cent mark, has suffered a major setback after an unprecedented wave of wildfires scarred Chyulu, Mbooni, Katende, Kitondo, Makuli, Kalala, and Mataa forests, triggering public outrage in the region.

“Katende and Kitondo forests are the most affected. They’ve lost 700 and 490 acres respectively. We’re glad we’ve managed to salvage the bulk of the forests,” the officer told reporters on Wednesday as he led a team of firefighters and volunteers in a fight to contain the inferno.

The firefighters attacked the fire directly using assorted hand tools and sprayed it with water. They also set up fire lines to control its spread by ring-fencing the affected sections. Their efforts have borne little fruit.

“The prolonged drought experienced in Makueni County has contributed immensely in fanning the fires,” Mr Maneno said.

“The biggest challenge, however, is the rough terrain since the affected forests are perched on hills, which are windy. The forests are dominated by fern and pine, which are highly flammable. They’re filled with lantana shrubs and other invasive species, which hinder fire-fighting efforts by making the forest inaccessible,” the forester added.

Read: WWF, ranches partner to prevent wildfires in Tsavo area

Although KFS traced the cause of the Kitondo Forest fire to the burning of charcoal by a farmer in a neighbouring village, the agency has not gotten to the bottom of the other outbreaks, fuelling rumours of possible arson.

“The fires are caused by faceless arsonists who strike mainly on Sunday night,” Mr Maneno said. The fires have left a trail of destruction, including falling trees.

At Katende Forest, for instance, the Nation has learned that the fire has consumed a plantation established in 1928, dampening conservation efforts in a county hailed as a trailblazer in climate change mitigation after it committed 1 per cent of its budget to climate action. 

The fires have also put hundreds of livelihoods in farming communities at risk. “This region receives enough rainfall for us to grow assorted crops even when other regions receive depressed rainfall,” Mzee Mutua Mang’eli, a peasant farmer at Ndumbi Village which borders Kitondo Forest said. 

On rumours that locals believe forest fires attract rainfall, Mzee Mangeli denied that villagers purposely start the fires. 

Mr Francis Muthoka, a retired teacher in the region, had claimed locals believe “smoke from burning forests triggers rainfall by making clouds dense.” 

Read: Aberdare National Park wildfires contained

The myth is among those KFS poses as a possible motivation for arson. Mr Maneno gave the myth as a reason for frequent fires in Katende Forest around the short rains season. 

But Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr and Assembly Speaker Douglas Mbilu disagree, linking the wave of forest fires to ‘unscrupulous’ sawmillers.

They torch the forests “so that they can seek permission from KFS to clear the fallen trees,” Mr Kilonzo as Mr Mbilu asked KFS to deny such sawmillers licences.

Amid the blame game, County Commissioner Beverly Opwora has directed detectives and KFS to investigate and apprehend the arsonists. She also urged communities bordering forests to actively take part in managing natural resources by reporting arsonists. 

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