The Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) Fire Management team advises residents of prescribed burning below Tafelberg Road.
Also read: Helicopters and spotter plane deployed to fire along Tafelberg Road
Although TMNP predicts no disruptions to the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway (TMACC) operations, visitors, cyclists, hikers and trail runners are advised to remain off the trails approximately 10 hectares below Tafelberg Road and on the contour path above Tafelberg Road during the burn.
Burning is scheduled to start around 4am between 2 April and 4 April, depending on favourable weather conditions. Fire crews will remain on scene afterwards to conduct mopping-up operations until the area is deemed safe by Fire Management.
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According to SANParks, fire plays a key role in the ecological management of the park, as fynbos vegetation is both fire-prone and fire-adapted.
‘Although we appreciate that such burning is a source of concern to many Cape Town residents, it must be stated that uncontrolled wildfires that may occur could pose a huge risk to life and property on the urban edge if the removal of dry flammable material by means of a prescribed burn is not carried out to reduce the likelihood of future uncontrolled wildfires,’ it said in a statement.
Due to this, TMNP’s Fire Management Department and the SANParks Cape Research Centre developed a scientific Prescribed Burning Plan for the entire park, which determines and prioritises areas for prescribed burning.
Prescribed burns in fynbos vegetation can:
- Reduce fire hazards by reducing the unnecessary ‘fuel’ accumulated in the field as a result of Alien Plant Clearing operations
- Rejuvenate the fire-adapted and fire-dependent fynbos vegetation
These prescribed burns also form ‘an essential part of control operations aimed at eliminating invasive alien plants’.
Residents living nearby are advised to keep their windows shut while burning takes place. Flammable items such as gas canisters should be removed from outside areas, and laundry should be taken off washing lines to prevent odour contamination from the smoke.
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