Fires Break Out on Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro National Park has been subjected to environmental pressures as a result of invasive species, climate change, and a recent fire that ravaged much of the plant life and some tourist facilities.

After a fire broke out in Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania on October 11, hundreds of students, staff, firefighters, and local volunteers rushed to help put it out. The College of National Wildlife Management, located near Mount Kilimanjaro, has supplied some 250 volunteers for the relief effort. Tanzanian authorities deployed helicopters on October 15 to help tame the spread after four days of uninterrupted fires. 

The fire constitutes a substantial threat to the already at-risk wildlife on Africa’s highest mountain. Kilimanjaro National Park was added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List in 1987 and it hosts many endangered species, particularly mammals. 

Although no deaths or injuries have been reported, Marcell Peters, a lecturer at the University of Würzburg in Germany, worries about the future impact that the fires will have, as the loss of Erica and Podacarpus trees will leave the region more vulnerable to future fires. 

Excessive tourist populations are a growing concern for environmental conservationists as well, as thousands of mountaineers trek up the routes every year—tramping down the earth, leaving behind litter, and scaring off wildlife. The pandemic has not put Kilimanjaro tourism to a halt either. Tanzanian President John Magufuli has restricted COVID-19 reporting in the country, eager to maintain the economy that depends so heavily on tourism. 

The fire appears to have been started at Whona, a rest area frequented by mountaineers using the Mandara and Horombo routes. Although the causes of the fire have not been officially declared, the ongoing investigation suggests that Kilimanjaro tourism employees who were warming food over a fire let a spark get loose. 

A Tanzania National Parks official said the fire was “all bad luck.”