By Joe Kiarie

The orange flames that engulfed the Mt Kenya National Park are no more, while smouldering logs still illustrate the nearby Aberdare National Park.

But as the nation comes to terms with the trail of devastation left behind by the two-week wildfire, the

A KWS officer looks at the fire that has destroyed huge tracks of forest land at the Aberdare National Park. [Photo: Job Weru/Standard]

Government is in a spot over its laid-back response to the disaster. Accounts of what fire fighters had to go through to conquer a fire that was callously consuming two national parks and indigenous forest cover that harbours a crucial water tower border on satire.

Twigs, jembes, spades, fire beaters, and knapsack pumps were the main devices used to suppress a fire that stretched over thousands of hectares in heavily forested terrains. In some instances, the fire fighters apparently had to trek for up to 10 hours in thick moorland and rugged terrain to reach the fire.

And when conquering the fire proved to be a tall order, some forestry officials desperately stated that they were praying for the heavens to open up so that rains could smother the fire.

Wildfire expected

Those prayers were not answered. Other officials were left desolately pleading with well-wishers to offer any kind of help to save the forests. And that is why they breathed a sigh of relief when three helicopters finally joined in the seemingly mission impossible.

While it took nine days to put out the fire in each park, conservationists believe it could have been put out in just three days had the Government invested in the right fire fighting equipment.

Mr Michael Gachanja, the deputy director at the East African Wildlife, says the high magnitude of loss could have been allayed had the Government planned properly and invested in modern fire fighting equipment.

"The months of January, February, and March are usually fire seasons so the wildfire was expected. But it is unfortunate that due to poor planning, we do not have the right infrastructure and equipment to fight the fires and are still using crude fire fighting methods," he says.

Gachanja says Kenya should learn from countries such as the US and Australia, which use the best possible forest fire fighting equipment to put out wildfires that often raze their forests.

"It is time we go this way and update our forest fire fighting technology, particularly by investing in air attack equipment such as the water bombers and air tankers. These investments might be expensive but are no comparison to the massive losses inflicted by forest fires," he states.

Mr Robert Mutegi Njue, the Kenya Wildlife Service assistant director in charge of the Mountain Region Conservancy Area, admits the country was never prepared for a disaster of such magnitude and says the fire should serve as a wake-up call to the Government to invest in modern fire fighting gear.

"As a country, we have somehow focused on urban fires but totally ignored forest fires. We do not have the right equipment to deal with mountainous forest fires," he says, terming the recent fires an ecological disaster.

Fire fighting equipment

Njue notes state policies must involve availing finances that will facilitate training of personnel and the acquisition of state-of-the-art fire fighting equipment.

The official is categorical Kenya should adopt aerial sprays in fighting wildfires.

In Mt Kenya, two helicopters, one belonging to the KWS and another acquired from a private firm, Lady Lori, were used to fight the fire using the slightly effective water buckets while the British Army provided another helicopter to help survey the affected areas and airlift fire fighters to the affected sections.

Njue says strengthening of the KWS, the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), and the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) as far as fire fighting is concerned is critical.

He terms the fire as an international crisis and says the Government can longer afford to ignore the importance of the Mt Kenya forest as a crucial water tower, and the environment as a whole.

"This is a priceless resource in terms of water supply, hydropower generation, agriculture, tourism, and other aspects, all of which have been gravely affected. Again, let us not forget that with a lot of gas emissions from the west and the east, it is the African forest that serves as the lungs of the world and helps preserve the ozone layer. Forest depletion will only accelerate climate change," The KWS official warns.

He notes that conquering the fire was a triumph against all odds and salutes everyone who was involved in the mission. He avers that the fire proved too challenging because despite being in four different locations, it came amid an extremely dry and windy season.

Conservation benefits

On reached for comment helicopter service operator Lady Lori urged the private sector to do more to protect Mt Kenya ecosystem

Lady Lori Kenya CEO Ian Mimano said the Government and local leaders must sensitise people on the benefits of conserving forests since the fire was most likely caused by arsonists or negligent activities like honey-harvesting or charcoal burning.

Mimano noted that other than the spectacle that Mt Kenya in itself is, the big mammal species like elephants, buffalos, bushbucks, and the primates are some of the attractions tourists enjoy viewing. He expressed his disappointment that the many corporate organizations that benefit from the Mt Kenya ecosystem either from farming, tourism, banking and related business activities did not come out strongly to avert a near disaster.

In Mt Kenya, it took the combined efforts of the local community, the KFS, the KWS, the Kenya Police, the National Youth Service, the Kenyan and British armies as well as some private sector organisations to put out the fire. Back burning, which involves fighting fire with fire, was later adopted to contain the fires after other methods proved ineffective.

"This was a multidimensional approach of dealing with a national crisis. In some areas the terrain was very rugged for human access, not to mention the fact that some areas are very cold and have diminishing oxygen due to high attitude. The helicopters could also not access other areas due to heavy winds," he explains.

Rain a blessing

In the Aberdare ranges where it was very windy, the fire was significantly suppressed by Tuesday but efforts to put it out continued deep into the week. Njue dismisses claims they were overly relying on expected downpour to conquer the fire but says rain would have been warmly welcomed.

"Rain during a fire comes as a blessing but we had to do our part before hoping for the rains. But divine intervention is inevitable when a forest as vital as the Mt Kenya and the Aberdares are under such fire," he states.

Njue says a team has already been dispatched to the affected areas to quantify the loss and will soon come up with a comprehensive report on the same.