This archive report was first published on 2 October 2019.
Published on October 2, 2019, a devastating fire has been raging through the Aberdare forest in Nyandarua county, with hundreds of hectares of bamboo forest land destroyed.
According to Kinangop deputy county commissioner Mr Kazungu Nzofu, a team of Kenya Forest Service officers, Kenya Wildlife Service, the police, and a disaster management team from Nyandarua County had been deployed at the scene to combat the fire.
However, the team was facing a significant challenge: the lack of aircrafts to transport them to the fire site, which is located on a very high altitude with harsh terrain.
“The area is on a very high altitude and there is harsh terrain before one gets there.We do not have aircrafts to transport our team to put it out,” Mr Nzofu explained.
Strong winds were also making it difficult for those already at the scene to contain the fire, with the blaze spreading rapidly.
“The winds are making the fire spread so fast and hence complicating our efforts to contain it. We pray that the rains come and this will make it easy for us to put it off,” Mr Nzofu said.
The fire is believed to have started on Sunday evening and has since spread to other areas, with suspicions that it was started by honey harvesters who have invaded the forest during the harvesting season.
Mr Nzofu cautioned residents to be vigilant while carrying out their duties near the forest, and warned poachers against carrying out poaching activities in the forest.
"They take the advantage and carry out poaching activities while we are busy putting out the fire. I want to warn them that we will not allow this to happen," Mr Nzofu said.
