Hundreds Fight Fire on Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s Highest Peak

A forest fire on Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest peak, has continued to blaze for a third day as Tanzanian firefighters try to contain it.

The fire, which is in a conservation area, is threatening the alpine ecological zone mostly inhabited by birds and reptiles.

“This fire has destroyed a small area of the conservation, mostly alpine ecological zones. Which is the third among the five layers on Mount Kilimanjaro. So the mountain forest has not been affected, and the upper snow area has also not been affected.

“Major destruction has been on the grass and shrubs. There are also birds, lizards, snakes, frogs, and varied creatures living in this area and have been affected. But the damage is not so big as it could have been in the case of a mountain forest fire where we have dense forests,” said Hamisi Kigwangalla, Tanzania’s Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism.

The altitude of the fire, dry weather conditions, and strong winds are making firefighters’ efforts fruitless.

On Tuesday, the team had contained a large portion of the burning area only to wake up on Wednesday to a rekindled fire.

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