The fire that burned for more than 24 hours on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, captured by video, October 23, 2023. AP
The fire that burned the slopes of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, for more than 24 hours was largely “under control” on Sunday, October 23, Tanzanian authorities said.
The fire broke out on Friday evening near Camp Karanga, a stopover point for hikers and climbers at around 4,000 meters above sea level on one of the busiest climbing routes to the “roof of Africa” (5,895 meters).
” Mostly, [l’incendie] has already been extinguished in most areas, although there are still fumaroles,” permanent secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism Eliamani Sedoyeka said first Sunday morning. In the early evening, the ministry said in a press release that the fire had been brought under control in several other places. “The situation is generally under control, we believe that over time it will be fully under control,” he assured.
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About 500 people mobilized, including civilians
The fire did not cause any injuries in this tourist hotspot in north-eastern Tanzania, which is particularly popular with trekkers and mountaineers. Tens of thousands of people climb its slopes every year. A total of 500 people – firefighters, National Parks (Tanapa) officials, police and civilians – mobilized to fight the fire, which had been fanned by strong winds.
Videos circulating on social media on Saturday showed large blazes engulfing vegetation from bushes and shrubs, releasing thick plumes of gray smoke. In particular, the firefighters managed to prevent the flames from spreading to the forest area below.
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If the origin of the fire has not yet been officially identified, Mr Sedoyeka estimated on Saturday night that “it is possible that a climber or honey collector caused the fire negligently”. A National Parks Authority (Tanapa) official, Herman Batiho, said he was “certain that it is due to human activity, perhaps extraction of honey by locals or (…) poachers”.
Two years after a fire that devastated 95 km2
This fire comes exactly two years after a fire that devastated 95 km2 of slopes for a week in October 2020 without claiming any victims. According to the first findings of the investigations at the time, the fire was caused by porters accompanying climbers.
Kilimanjaro and the area surrounding it is an iconic mountain whose snow-capped peaks are known around the world and is classified as a National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With a total area of more than 75,000 hectares (over 750 km2), the park is home to a remarkable ecosystem with rich flora and fauna consisting of elephant, buffalo, antelope, etc.
Consisting of three peaks (Kibo, Mawenzi, Shira), this volcanic massif is not immune to global warming, which in particular is drying out its vegetation, which consists successively of plains, montane forests and then raised bogs in front of an alpine desert and the mountain peak. The “snow on Kilimanjaro” celebrated by Ernest Hemingway could even disappear by 2040, according to a 2011 report by the World Meteorological Organization, the weather agency of the UN, on the climate situation in Africa. The area covered by glaciers has shrunk by 85% in a century, from 11.40 km2 in 1912 to 1.76 km2 in 2011.
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