A wild fire that has razed Mount Kenya for more than a week has almost been completely put out, the country’s wildlife service said on Sunday.
The cause of the fire is yet to be established, with various security agencies del=ployed to contain its spread.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) are among the agencies tasked with putting out the fire, which has razed a large portion of the foot of the mountain.
“Except upper flanks of Ithangune, the rest of the fire on Mt Kenya is dead. Teams east of Chogoria are monitoring situation,” KWS said via its official Twitter handle.
FIRE UPDATE: Except upper flanks of Ithangune, the rest of the #fire on Mt Kenya is dead. Teams east of Chogoria are monitoring situation
— Kenya Wildlife Service (@KWSKenya) March 3, 2019
Earlier reports indicated that over 80,000 hectares of moorland was consumed by the raging fire, which spread fast due to strong winds.
Helicopters and planes are being used to fight the fire, and the various agencies involved have expressed optimism that the operation will conclude soon.
