More than 1 000 hectares lost and second heat wave looms
A raging fire on Monday left devastation in its wake. With 60km/h winds fanning the flames, more than 1 000 hectares of farmland was lost.
According to Weather SA, Gauteng and parts of Limpopo will experience their second heatwave during the coming weekend. This one is being described as more intense than the previous one.
The heat, coupled with the lack of rainfall, has placed the farmers on the West Rand in a very volatile situation.
On Monday, 21 October, the community and emergency services fought well into the night to stop devastating fires. Sadly, over 1 100 hectares of farm land was destroyed, with one farmer from Swartkrans losing some of his stock.
Read the initial article here:
https://www.citizen.co.za/krugersdorp-news/393312/emergency-services-and-community-fought-devastating-fires-well-into-the-night/
Gerhardt Nieuwoudt, the Regional Commander of Mogale City’s Emergency Services, explained that they started receiving calls about the fire at 2.15pm on Monday.
“At that moment, Mogale Fire was already busy fighting a big fire in Wolwekrans as well as a fire at a thatch-roofed house in Rangeview,” he said.
All available resources were immediately diverted to the R400, (the Maropeng road) and Swartkrans in the Cradle of Humankind. The fire department sent out two Land Cruisers, two fire trucks and about 30 of their own personnel. Teams from Working On Fire (WOF) were also sent out.
“We were fighting against winds of 60km per hour, which made the fire spread incredibly quickly,” Nieuwoudt explained.
The teams who were already fighting the fire were subsequently joined by teams from the Fire Protection Association.
Nieuwoudt said that they got most of the fire under control by using fire breaks and effective firefighting.
“The game farm and plots around Swartkrans suffered immense damage and various wild animals burnt to death,” he said sadly.
Four rooms in a church, a game trailer, various pipes, fences, poles and pastures were also destroyed in the fire.
“The fire was brought under control at about 7pm. The wind helped the fire cross big fire roads and made it very difficult to fight the fires. Luckily no lives were lost,” Nieuwoudt said.
A further major problem caused by the fire was the destruction of numerous Eskom poles. This left farms without electricity and unable to use their water pumps.
One of the people who helped fight the fire is André Steynberg, who lives on a neighbouring farm.
“Everything happened so fast and the wind just spread the fire,” he said.
He wants to warn everyone to be careful during this time. He asked members of the community to refrain from making open fires, and requested motorists and residents to not throw their cigarette butts out of the windows of their homes or vehicles.
“We are always on alert,” he said as he explained that they have their water carts ready and when they see smoke, they phone everyone they know to find out where the fire is and try to get out in front of it.
Here are some things that can cause unnecessary veld fires:
1. Reckless disposal of cigarette butts
2. Burning fires in metal drums at bus stops while waiting for the bus
3. Land clearings
4. Deliberate fire-setting
5. Children playing with matches
6. Improper household ash disposal
