Kenya: The Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) Alex Lemarkoko accompanied the Principal Secretary (PS) of Internal Security Dr. Raymond Omollo and the PS for Forestry Gitonga Mugambi on a monitoring mission to Isiolo County. The aim of the visit was to assess the interventions put in place by the government to contain wildfires that broke out recently.
The Chief Conservator of Forests Alex Lemarkoko shared that it is crucial to keep a check on the onset of the wildfires. The damage caused by the natural phenomenon has disrupted the life of several locals.
The officials checked the damage of the area by overflying the affected areas. After this, they addressed the community at Sericho township. In his address, Omollo thanked the fire fighting teams led by KFS rangers for containing the fire.
He also thanked the local community for supporting and assisting in the fire suppression exercise. He however cautioned the community against harmful practices like use of fire to ward off livestock pests. He claimed that it was the cause of the fire that had consumed over 2,500 hectares of pasture land.
He announced that the fire fighting teams will continue monitoring the situation on the ground in order to quickly contain any fire that might reignite.
While speaking to the media at Isiolo, Mr. Mugambi commented on the efforts of the fire fighting teams from various institutions that had mobilised quickly to try and manage the fire. He noted that the increasing wildfires were as a result of climate change which had caused severe and drastic changes in weather patterns. He encouraged all Kenyans to participate in the 15 billion tree growing campaign in order to mitigate against the effects of climate change.
According to the CCF, the period between January and March are usually forest fire season in Kenya. In a statement, he said that KFS had accordingly declared the forest fire season and mobilised all resources to be ready to tackle forest fires. All firest station managers have also been directed to mobilise and sensitise the community about fire preventive measures. Other public and private partners have also been put on alert in order to manage forest fires in a multi agency approach which would help to optimize resources.
While speaking to Forest Rangers send to fight the fire at the Sericho Command Centre, the CCF commended the officers for heeding the call of duty and the KFS mandate of protecting forests. He urged them to establish and maintain a cordial relatioship with the local community as they were their biggest stakeholders in the activity. He congratulated them for always being ready to work in tough and challenging environments in the execution of their duties.
The Service has also established another command center at Isiolo to coordinate the fire suppression activities.