A fire that broke out at Braunfels, about 10km outside Khorixas in the Kunene region, has destroyed close to 20 hectares of land after a farmer allegedly ignited it while attempting to drive away elephants on Thursday.
Andrew Miles, a forestry technician in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, on Friday said the fire is out of control and has spread to the Sorri-Sorris Conservancy due to strong winds.
“The fire initially started yesterday when a farmer wanted to fend off some elephants. It has since gotten out of hand, and we will have to work overnight to contain it,” he said.
Miles said the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs has deployed personnel for assistance, who travelled from Otjiwarongo to join the firefighting efforts, while the Khorixas Town Council has provided pressured water trucks, along with local volunteers using fire beaters.
He expressed concern over the destruction of grazing land, saying: “The environment has been destroyed, grazing land has been destroyed. We don’t know when we will receive good rains again.”
Miles urged residents of Khorixas and the surrounding areas to join in extinguishing the fire and cautioned residents to refrain from and report such incidents, as fires destroy valuable land.
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