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Uncontrollable wildfire threatens grazing land and livelihoods in Wajir County

A resident trying to put out the fire using twigs.

By Issa Hussein | Thursday, January 18, 2024

Residents of Boji in Wajir County are grappling with an uncontrollable wildfire that started yesterday at 3 pm and is spreading rapidly.

Residents of Boji in Wajir County are grappling with an uncontrollable wildfire that started yesterday at 3 pm and is spreading rapidly. Ali Abdi Mohamed, a resident, expressed concern about the escalating fire consuming vast grazing land.

Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the fire. The grassland had recently recovered from a prolonged drought with the help of El Nino rains.

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Ali appealed for urgent intervention from the Wajir County government's Department of Special Programs. Efforts to reach Farhiya Abdille Maalim, the Wajir County Executive Committee for Special Programs, were unsuccessful.

A video circulating on social media shows ill-equipped locals using tree branches as makeshift tools to combat the fire. The locals are overwhelmed and urgently need assistance to contain the fire.

The wildfire severely threatens the pasture reserve for their livestock, impacting the predominantly pastoralist community in a devastating manner.