Since the start of the winter fire season, 74 wildfires have been suppressed in Limpopo. This is according to Working on Fire (WOF) in Limpopo which assists municipalities and fire protection associations with fire suppression efforts.

Ofentse Letswalo, the WOF spokesperson, says these fires were suppressed by firefighters at 27 bases throughout the province with over 938 000 hectares of vegetation lost. The official no-burning prohibition period starts on August 1 until October 31.

According to Rouan Snyman of the Letaba Fire Protection Association (LFPA), this means that all open burning, including block burns, rubbish pits, land preparation, and firebreaks, must be completed by the end of July.

Snyman says in the Mopani district, the Greater Tzaneen and the Greater Letaba areas have recorded some of the most fires. According to him one of the major causes is unmaintained powerlines and no firebreaks around sub-stations.

“Although few firebreaks get out of hand, poor mopping up afterward can be problematic,” he says. “A large number of fires start due to ignorance and burning rubbish pits on high fire danger index days and left unattended,” explains Snyman. In the Letaba LFPA area, the fireline number is 076 844 1646, and their office number is 076 550 2260. LFPA also has an active Telegram group where information is shared daily.