Residents evacuated as Arabuko Forest fire rages

Hundreds of families living near Arabuko Sokoke Forest in Malindi, Kilifi County, were on Monday evacuated after a fire outbreak.

County Chief Disaster Management Officer Adan Mohamed said they ordered locals at Jilore and Kakuyuni, where the fire is believed to have started before spreading to Arabuko Sokoke Forest, to move to safe areas on Monday.

“The fire broke out at Kakuyuni near Jilore in Malindi and we have ordered locals to vacate their homes,” he said.

The Kenya Red Cross Society County Coordinator Hakima Masoud, who broke the news of the fire outbreak of the social media, said no casualties were reported.

PLANTING

The county chief officer said the inferno might have been caused by a farmer who was burning his field near the forest in preparation for planting.

Mr Mohamed said they had asked the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to assist them in putting out the fire.

“Although the fire brigade team from Malindi arrived at the scene on time, we were unable to out the fire since our we could not penetrate the deep forest,” he said.

TROPICAL FOREST

“We have asked the KWS to provide special choppers to assist in extinguishing the fire,” he added.

Arabuko Sokoke Forest, which covers about 420 square kilometers, is one of the largest tropical forests in East African coast.

Some of the wild animals found in the forest include Elephants, dik-diks, impala, owls among others.

By Tuesday evening, firefighters were still struggling to extinguish the fire.