NGODWANA – Although the drought is not having a huge impact on Sappi’s standing and growing plantations, there are major concerns over the increasing risk for veld fires which could reap devastation.

This is according to Mr Duane Roothman, general manager of Sappi Forests for Mpumalanga. “I do not see a real impact except where I can see dieback on trees or yellowing trees. I reckon if we do not have a proper rainfall this coming season we will see some dieback on shallower soil crops.”

He explained that if there is a real impact on the shallow- soil areas most of those trees will not recover and go into disaster care which means that the areas will be replanted.

“It is treated like any other commercial crop. Because we don’t irrigate, we are  extremely vulnerable,” said Roothman. “The trees we have planted are more resistant  to the impact of drought.”

To him it is necessary during a drought to make sure that resources are available for  firefighting and to keep firefighting efficiency at the optimum.

“Our greatest concern is to see that the normal dams and filling dams have enough  water for firefighting. We have invested heavily in firefighting systems to make sure we  don’t have a repeat of the devastation of the 2007 fires,” Roothman said.

He was realistic and said that despite all precautions it only takes the wrong day with  somebody lighting a fire in the wrong place “to experience devastation again”.

He was also concerned about the Sabie basin. “If you drive up Long Tom Pass, it concerns me that all those four- to six-year-old crops would soon go into pruning regime. All that fuel load of the branches will accumulate below the trees. Those plantation owners have real concerns.”

He once again made an appeal to the public to use utter discretion when lighting fires in the open.

“It is critical that we realise fires have communal impact. Devastation by them is non-discriminate. ‘It does not ask who you are. It is not only landowners that should abide by fire protection rules. If the fire starts, it doesn’t stop until nature stops it nine out of 10 times – not mankind.”

Mr Duncan Ballantyne, fire-risk manager: Sappi Forests, Mpumalanga said this fire season followed on the back of an extremely bad drought.

“The plantations are very dry throughout the province. There are dry fuels everywhere. We are expecting the next rainy season to start earlier than normal. From now until mid-October conditions are going to be quite severe.”

He explained that it was hard to know if the weather will be as bad as was the case in 2007.

“We have not seen the big cold fronts coming through or the extreme winds that usually start much earlier. We are hopeful that we are not going to get the same winds as in 2007. If we get them, we will be in big trouble because of the dry fields.”

Ms Louise van Wyk, environmental manager for Sappi Forests: Mpumalanga, said the good news after the recently completed environmental audits, was that there were still springs with water, especially in the areas higher up in the plantations.

“In the lower areas where there are wetlands, however, these are drier than other areas,” she explained. “We have seen more animals though, which indicates that they is looking for water in the open areas and that water is running scarce where they would usually find it in the plantations.”