Aberdare forest fire to be put out in two days, KWS
A fire razes Aberdare forest on Friday. KWS says the fire would be contained in next two days.
A two-week fire that has ravaged over 40, 000 acres of the Aberdare National Park could be contained in the next two days, Kenya Wildlife Service assistant director of Mountain Conservation Bakari Mungumi says.
Speaking after an aerial view inspection of the moorlands, Mr Bakari said since the Aberdare is one of the main water towers in the country, the effects of the fire could be felt in the next few months with water levels are expected to decline.
He said the effects of the fire will not be immediate but should the dry weather persist, a number of rivers are expected to dry up, noting that the Aberdare plays a critical role in the Kenyan ecosystem.
River Chania, Gura and Hikururu combine to form the larger Chania which drains into Tana, sourcing its water from the two water towers in Mt Kenya region.
“We have made good progress since the fire began, and as of yesterday we can say the fire is technically being contained. We are hopeful that in the next two days, the fire will be out,” he said.
He further added that should it rain, the efforts to put out the fire will be a lot easier.
“We are lucky that we have received light showers but sadly, it is in the lower forest zones not up in the moorlands. We pray that all will go in the moorlands and support those teams,” he added.
The team fighting off the fire was using a plane to spray the burning moorlands and troops on the ground who offered support using twigs in putting out smoldering fires.
At the same time, he asked those living within the water towers to embrace conservation efforts to avoid further degradation of the forests.
The fire began as a result of the prevailing dry weather and high altitudinal winds that have dried the moorlands.
The fire left two wardens dead in attempts to contain it.
