By JOB WERU
A raging fire continued consuming Mt Kenya’s moorland, despite the Government deploying more personnel to fight the inferno.
Sources told The Standard Thursday, that the fire had started spreading and consuming vegetation in the upper part of the mountain.
According to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) sources, the fire started spreading towards the mountain peaks, making it hard for most people involved in the exercise to extinguish it.
Mr Simon Gitau, the Mountain Head of Tourism and Rescue Operations, said an estimated 58 square kilometres of land had been consumed by Wednesday evening.
"The fire is still continuing although it has subsided. We are still going on with the mop up and hope that it will be contained within time," said Gitau, who was on the way to the scene.
Sources said it was also hard for the fire fighters to control it, since the section does not have ample tree branches and also because the fire was cutting across dangerous ridges.
John Wachihi, the KFS head of conservancy told The Standard that more than 30 youths have been ferried to the mountain to help fight the fire.
The group arrived Thursday in the morning, and they added up to the number of at least 20 KWS rangers who are involved in the operation.
"The problem is that the area is not accessible using vehicles, they have to walk for about five hours to the scene of fire," said Wachihi.
Illegal business
The fire started early this week and was blamed on honey harvesters and poachers who sneak into the forest.
A senior KWS official who sought anonymity said the poachers started the fire to sway KWS and KFS officials from pursuing them as they go about their illegal business.
"The criminals started the fire because they know that most of the forest guards are deployed to fight fire outbreaks," said our source.
However, no injuries have been reported so far.
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Reports indicated that on Tuesday, some tourists and their guides and porters who were on an expedition in the mountain were forced to cut short their trip after the fire spread towards major routes between Naromoru Met Station Camp and Mackinders Camp.
The mountain is an important water tower and Unesco world heritage site.
Earlier this year in January, a similar fire raged over the mountain burning for days and destroying acres of grassland.
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