• Already a command centre has been put up to coordinate fire fighting in theTsavo East and West parks.
• KWS has partnered with environmental organisations like Africa Wildlife Foundation to mitigate the fires.
A fire station will be built in Tsavo East as the Kenya Wildlife Service steps up efforts to deal with frequent fires in the country's largest wildlife conservation area.
Already a command centre has been put up to coordinate fire fighting in the Tsavo East and West parks, KWS senior assistant director in charge of the region Robert Njue said on Tuesday.
The rehabilitation of the ruined habitat is a major challenge, the KWS official said. He disclosed that they had partnered with environmental organisations like Africa Wildlife Foundation to mitigate the fires.
The two parks are home to 12,600 elephants, the largest concentration of elephants in Kenya, according to the 2017 census.
Njue said the fire station is expected to be ready early next year.
Herdsmen, honey harvesters and charcoal dealers have been blamed for the Tsavo park fires.
The latest fire outbreak was on Wednesday near the 80,000-acre Rukinga Ranch in Tsavo West.
The blaze consumed 100 acres before it was put off by community rangers.
"I have been protecting this grass (from herders and charcoal dealers) for over 10 years but it has now gone up in flames," ranch owner Samson Mwaganyi said.
Mwanganyi intended to keep over 20 head of cattle on the ruined acreage. He lamented that there are many people made idle by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Another fire had ravaged Chyulu hills on Sunday.
Njue said most fires are caused by anthropogenic (human) activities.
"We had a lot of rain in November and December last year during which the biomass increased, " he said. This attracted livestock herders, honey harvesters and charcoal dealers.
KWS wants the herders out of Tsavo parks and has so far seized 400 head of livestock.
There is also an ongoing operation to kick out charcoal dealers from Kwale and Taita ranches.
Fires not only kill animals but also degrade landscape, causing soil erosion and making soils lose nutrients.
The big game has not been affected - only small animals like rodents and snakes.
- mwaniki fm