Fire flare ups in the Lowveld

MBOMBELA – Several fires raged across the Lowveld on Wednesday. By Thursday they had mostly been contained, but the fire danger remained high.

According to André Scheepers, manager of the Lowveld and Escarpment Fire Protection Association (Lefpa), temperatures and strong winds made conditions difficult for firefighters. Lefpa expected flare-ups if the wind strength increased.

Farms near Sabie and Hilltop, farms and plantations in the Sudwala and Rosehaugh area and plantations outside Barberton near the Swaziland border, have been affected.

It is believed that the fires broke out in the plantations on the R37 near Rosehaugh and spread due to the hot weather and strong winds.

Lefpa used aerial resources to fight the blazes.  Near Sabie, Working on Fire (WoF) firefighters battled a fire on a farm for hours on Wednesday.

According to Scheepers, the cause of the blaze is still uncertain.
“No permits have been issued in the last two weeks because we are currently in fire season,” he said.

The Sabie fire was brought under control and nobody was injured.
“We, along with Working on Fire are on standby in case of any further flare-ups.”

WoF general manager, Martin Bolton said on Wednesday that this year’s season has been difficult.

“We have experienced an increase in fires recorded thus far, as compared to last year. Between May and August 2016, 126 fires were recorded, while this year 155 have been recorded,” he said.

Fire condition warnings have been extended to a large portion of central South Africa, spanning all the provinces as well as Swaziland.