This fire season is set to be the worst in eight years, says Trevor Abrahams, the managing director of Working on Fire (WoF).
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Abrahams says the country has already dealt with unprecedented winter fires, and the situation is expected to worsen.
‘This year, we’ve already had a record fire season in the northern part of the country during winter, where provinces like the North West, which typically burns about 200 000 hectares, burnt about 1.2 million hectares, and there have been four fire-related deaths in that province. Agri SA says they lost about 400 000 hectares of grazing land and more than R1 billion worth of cattle.’
According to Abrahams, WoF is experiencing fires in areas that don’t typically burn, noting that the fires are more intense and more frequent.
He told the Daily Maverick that these incidents are ‘huge knocks’ on our economy.
‘That’s what we see here in South Africa, more and more the fires are spreading into our breadbasket area. Typically, these fires used to be in the forest areas up in the north and in the Cape Fynbos zones, but now they are going into Free State, North West and Northern Cape.’
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The Western Cape’s fire season began on Saturday with a blaze in Peck’s Valley above Muizenberg.
Justin Buchman, the fire manager at Table Mountain National Park (TMNP), says although the cause of the fire is still unclear, there’s a possibility ‘that it was a church group up the mountain. They had admitted that they had made a fire. And there was nobody else in the given area.’
The Western Cape MEC for local government, environmental affairs and development planning, Anton Bredell, says about 97% of fires in the region are caused by human influence, either intentionally or via negligence.
On a positive note, Stefaan Conradie, a PhD student in climatology at the University of Cape Town, told the Daily Maverick that the wet winter in the Western Cape will likely lower the risk of big wildfires, at least at the beginning of the upcoming season.
‘As temperatures increase globally, the increasing risk of hot, dry and windy conditions over the fynbos biome is expected to lead to more frequent weather conditions that could support extreme wildfire behaviour. But vegetation conditions, social factors and fire preparedness determine how future fires evolve.’
A total of R16 million was budgeted for wildfire responses this year alone, up from the Western Cape Government’s budget of R14.5 million last year. According to Bredell, this amount excludes the budgets of municipalities and other entities.
‘Approximately 2 300 firefighters, both professional and those on contract, will be available this season. Aerial and ground support tenders were also in place. This included four helicopters and access to another four if needed, and four fire-bombing planes and eight spotter aircraft.’
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As per TMNP’s Buchman, staff are strategically placed across Table Mountain National Park, and they are on standby 24/7 throughout the year. ‘We ramp that up significantly during the summer.’
He adds that three phases of fire prevention measures are implemented throughout the year. These include:
- Controlled burning during summer
- Fuel reduction burns during winter, which include the systemic burning of invasive plant species
- Cutting firebreaks around TMNP’s borders as well as the urban periphery
Colin Deiner, chief director of Western Cape Disaster Management, stresses how vital it is for homeowners to make a safe space around their homes.
‘The most important thing a homeowner could do is create defensible space. You should create a space where if you do have a fire, it would give the fire department the opportunity to get into that space. If you have trees and bushes, you should create a defensible space between your house and these areas.’
Cape Nature also notes that fire-prevention measures such as keeping grass and fine vegetation around the house trimmed, ensuring that gas bottles are stored in a secure environment away from heat, and keeping a fire extinguisher in an area that can easily be accessed can also help.
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