Day Five: Raging fire continues to consume Kilimanjaro
What you need to know:
The fire, which started on Sunday afternoon in Whona, which is a tourist stop over, for those using the Mandara and Horombo routes, had reportedly been controlled but suddenly re-emerged in Horombo Station, where it occurred in canyons.
Moshi. Five days after fire erupted on Mt Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain is still burning even with concerted efforts by a multi-task force to contain the flames.
This was confirmed by the Tanzania National parks Authority in a late evening twitter message.
On Wednesday there were signs that firefighters were making progress but this was thwarted when strong winds reignited the fires leading huge flames that could be seem as far as 30 Km in Moshi town.
So far, apart from the loss of vegetation and ecological destruction, 12 huts, two toilets, and a solar equipment in Horombo have been razed by the inferno.
The fire, which started on Sunday afternoon in Whona, which is a tourist stop over, for those using the Mandara and Horombo routes, had reportedly been controlled but suddenly re-emerged in Horombo Station, where it occurred in canyons.
Speaking to reporters in connection with the fire, the Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr Hamis Kigwangalla, said the fire broke had caused serious damage
He said in the Horombo and Mandara area, the National Parks Agency (Tanapa) launched a project to build new modern, larger and more beautiful huts compared to the old ones where out of the 12 burnt by the fire, two are the modern ones. The two were being used by special guests.
Kigwangalla said the fire, which broke out on Sunday, October 11, was already under control and what was left was the extinguishing of a few embers, but on Wednesday evening, a fire broke out again at Horombo station.
