TANAPA posted a photo on its Twitter account that it said showed Mount Kilimanjaro covered in flames, along with the caption: “A fire broke out on Mount Kilimanjaro this afternoon (October 11). Fire control efforts are underway.”
It is known that the fire burned more than 26 km.2More than 500 volunteer firefighters have been deployed on Africa's highest peak to battle the blaze. The fire was contained earlier in the week but flared up again on Wednesday morning (October 14), causing extensive damage to property, TANAPA reported. The fire is currently burning about halfway up the mountain, between 2,697 and 3,685 meters.
According to TANAPA, the fire likely started in Whona, a rest area for climbers. Pascal Shelutete, a TANAPA communications officer, said in a press conference: “The fire is still under investigation but preliminary evidence suggests it may have started in Whona, where visitors rest and cook. As you know, this is the dry season and fires spread very quickly.”
The fires have the potential to destroy the flora and fauna of the mountains, although ecologists do not expect any endemic species to be completely wiped out. However, the increasing number of fires on the mountains in recent times is still a cause for concern.
Mount Kilimanjaro is located on the border between Tanzania and Kenya, south of the Equator, with an altitude of nearly 6,000 m above sea level and is one of the 7 highest mountains in the world. Every year, about 50,000 tourists come to Kilimanjaro to conquer the "roof of Africa".
