Staff members at the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT), along with a group of firefighters, are hard at work to distinguish the blaze that has spread to some parts of the Etosha National Park since last week.

MEFT spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda confirmed the fire outbreak to Nampa on Friday, saying the park has been under two fire outbreaks, which originated from a neighbouring farm on the southern boundary of the park and another sparked from a grader used to break up fires in the eastern part of the park.

He said the fire does not present any danger to wildlife inside the park.

“The fire from the neighbouring farm has been burning in the area from last week, which we already burnt as part of our early burning programme therefore not causing much threat, furthermore, the eastern side fire started on Wednesday and our team is on the ground to stop this fire as it has been heading to areas we do not want to burn at the moment,” stated Muyunda.

He also stated that no wildlife losses were recorded thus far, adding that the group is fighting with every available resource to contain the fire.

“Be assured that this is receiving our immediate and urgent attention,” added Muyunda.

According to Muyunda, almost every year, forest fires burn about a million hectares of vegetation in fire-prone regions, threatening lives and property, as well as degrading the environment and Etosha is no exception. He said the park has over the past 20 years experienced these kinds of fires but they are always contained without causing much damage.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency