An ongoing forest fire that started on February 3, 2023, has destroyed almost 1200 acres of forestland in Narok County.

The Maasai Mau forest's Olposimoru section and the Chebitet section, where residents were forced to leave, are the two afflicted areas, according to Narok County Conservator Daniel Mkung.

Speaking during a County Service Delivery meeting that was presided over by County Commissioner Mr Isaac Masinde and held in the County Commissioner's Conference Hall he said the fire may have been started by charcoal smokers or burners on forest land, and it spread quickly due to the prevailing dry season.

He said the fire could have been caused by charcoal burners or smokers at the forest land and spread fast because of the ongoing dry spell.

Mkung said during this season of fire, no Kenya Forest Service (KFS) officer or employee will proceed on leave and those already on leave have been recalled to work.

The officers were also instructed to remain at their workplaces 24 hours a day including weekends and public holidays to monitor the situation.

“It takes a very short time to destroy the forest by fire but several years to reclaim it. That is why we should be all careful to avoid forest fires this dry season,” he continued.

Residents living near the forest land were also asked to avoid burning litter in their farms or charcoal on farms that are adjacent to the forest land to avoid causing fire incidents.

He advised the residents to report immediately to the KFS offices in case of a fire outbreak in their respective localities so that the fire can be put off before it spreads to wider areas.

The conservator told the meeting that the county has 182, 000 hectares on land under forest cover, where 73, 000 hectares is under KFS while 110,000 hectares is under the county government.

Masinde asked the residents to join the country in praying for the rains so that the fire can cease.

“The First Families have shown us the best path to take is to pray for the rains to come. I ask all of us to join our fellow Kenyans to pray for the rains,” he said.

He said out of the 13, 000 hectares recovered when people were evicted from the forest land, only 3, 000 hectares have been planted trees, hence calling on well-wishers and agencies to adopt a block at the forest land to plant trees.