KENYA: Villagers and Kenya Wildlife Service rangers toil for days to put out a massive forest fire that has consumed thousands of acres of one of Kenya's biggest water towers

Record ID: 362211

  • Title: KENYA: Villagers and Kenya Wildlife Service rangers toil for days to put out a massive forest fire that has consumed thousands of acres of one of Kenya's biggest water towers
  • Date: 18th March 2012
  • Summary: NARU MORU, KENYA (MARCH 15, 20120 (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF MOUNT KENYA FOREST, SMOKE BILLOWING FROM FOREST VARIOUS OF KENYA WILDLIFE RANGERS PUTTING FIGHTING FIRE USING TWIGS CLOSE-UP OF FIRE RANGER PUTTING OFF FIRE (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEPUTY WARDEN, MOUNT KENYA NATIONAL RESERVE, SIMON GITAU SAYING: "Almost 100 percent of fires on this Mountain are caused by huma
  • Embargoed: 2nd April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya, Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Disasters,Environment
  • Reuters ID: LVA6DQCZMOGNPA08N03BKI9DO43O
  • Story Text: A raging fire has destroyed atleast 2,000 acres of indigenous forest in Mount Kenya National Park. The fire which started a week ago (Friday 9) is suspected to have to have been caused by honey harvesters and poachers.
    The forest is a major water tower in the country and the second highest mountain in Africa is famous for hiking, with statistics indicating that about 30,000 tourists hike the mountain every year
    "Almost 100 percent of fires on this Mountain are caused by human beings but upto now we do not know who caused the fire but I am sure it is a human being. This forest is dense enough, it is a human being who caused this but we are still investigating," said Simon Gitau, Deputy Warden, Mount Kenya National Reserve The forest is home to some 882 rare plants and numerous animal species.
    The fast blowing winds have aggravated the fire and the Kenya Wildlife Service has warned that the the inferno had started spreading towards the treacherous mountain peaks making it hard to fight it.
    "This is not moorland fire, this is fire inside the indigenous forest and where the water catchment is. The fire is being fanned by wind, there are strong winds especially during the day the thing is that the moisture content on the ground is very low because of the wind and high temperatures that we are experiencing in the country right now," said Gitau Hiking routes and access to climbs on Mt. Kenya have already been closed for tourists to prevent any visitors and their guides from getting trapped.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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