It is counterintuitive to have negative consequences following good rains. But what was a blessing at the beginning of 2024 became a ticking time bomb by mid-September. Because good rains result in long grass, and long grass becomes bonfire material by the peak of the dry season.

Fires are part of the natural cycle of the Chyulu Hills. If managed properly, they can be beneficial, and many of the plant and tree species that thrive here are fire-resistant.

However, fires that are too frequent and too strong can be harmful to this landscape. When our teams received word of an enormous line of flames rising from the farms to the east of the hills, it required rapid attention.

In this remote region, rangers are the first and only defense against such fires. More than 60 Big Life rangers and 3 aircraft, along with teams from the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, the Kenya Wildlife Service, and The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, worked day and night to stop the blaze.

Funds from the Chyulu Hills REDD+ Project were used to secure an Air Tractor in the past year, a plane capable of dropping more than 1,000 gallons of water at a time, which made a huge difference in controlling the fire.

This one fire burned an estimated 12,000 acres. If it wasn’t for the dedicated combined efforts of our rangers, the teams from our conservation partners, and the new aircraft, the damage would have been a lot worse.

Two weeks later, and green shoots have already started to appear across the blackened hillsides, highlighting the resilience of this ecosystem, and offering a sense of hope as we look once more to the beginning of the cycle and the start of the rains.

🎥: Joshua Clay