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Raging fires on Mount Kenya extinguished after nine days
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 23 - 03 - 2012


Fires that have ravaged 10 per cent of Mount
Kenya's forests, which serve as a water catchment for much of the
country, have been extinguished after nine days, dpa quoted the Kenya Wildlife
Service (KWS) as saying Friday.
The forests of Mount Kenya, a UNESCO world heritage site and the
second-highest peak in Africa, store water in the rainy season and
release it during dry spells, providing a crucial water supply in a
country prone to cyclical drought.
The KWS said the fires had been started by "arsonists with ill
intentions," a reference to wildlife poachers believed to have lit
the blazes in order to cover up their illegal activities.
"There are no more active burning fires in the mountain," KWS
spokesman Paul Udoto said. "However, logs are still smouldering in
isolated parts."
The KWS, army, police and local communities fought to contain the
spreading flames, cutting down trees to create a buttress and using
helicopters to spray water on the fire.
Udoto said that large animal species such as elephants, buffaloes
and primates migrated from the fire, but an unknown number of
reptiles and invertebrates perished in the flames.
Poaching is a major problem in Kenya, where heavily armed criminal
gangs seek ivory for a trade largely fueled by demand from the Far
East.
Two wardens and three poachers have been shot dead in gun battles
this month alone. In Kenya, the illegal hunters generally target
elephants and rhinos.
A second fire in the Aberdare ranges has also been brought under
control, Udoto said.


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