The recent spate of fires that ravaged some structures at various camps throughout the Kruger National Park (KNP) has raised questions about the park’s ability to fight fires.

Olifants, Satara, Tamboti and Maroela rest camps, as well as the Skukuza Airport, recently suffered various degrees of fire damage and in some cases, guests had to be evacuated and relocated for their safety.

On Sunday afternoon, October 6, the thatch roof of the Skukuza Airport caught fire while there were passengers in the lounge. Fortunately, the travellers were evacuated safely and no injuries
were reported.

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Fast-forward eight days to October 14 and three Olifants Camp units were razed to the ground.

This while an unattended braai fire set alight the thatched roof of a bungalow at Satara. Six days later, on October 20, Tamboti and Maroela tented camps fell victim to runaway fires.

Yet the KNP’s spokesperson, Isaac Phaahla, insists the park has sufficient resources to fight fires. Highlighting that in each incident, guests were successfully evacuated and nobody was injured, Phaahla said the park had in-house firefighters and equipment to deal with fires.

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“We also rely on firefighters from nearby towns and our field rangers who are trained to contain fires. We can assure our guests of their safety in the KNP during a fire, because we have all the measures in place to contain it. We are expecting fires until the first rains, but we are always vigilant.”

He added while the causes of some of the recent fires remained unknown, assessors were working on evaluating the damage.

While conceding that fire was a natural phenomenon and part of the ecosystem, Phaahla discouraged the public from lighting fires in dry and windy conditions.