Winds fan veld and field fires

THIS Thursday afternoon might look dull in town. It’s smoke in the air from a veld and forest fire south of Vryheid next to the old Babanango road. It started over towards the Stilwater smallholdings, and winds gusting up to 60km/h fanned the flames towards Klipfontein Dam. Alert land owners in the area and the …

August 28, 2014

Less than a minute

This is the upper part of the great Wit Umfolozi River just before it flows into Klipfontein Dam. It acted as a barrier to the fire although the wind would easily enable the fire to jump the river.

THIS Thursday afternoon might look dull in town. It’s smoke in the air from a veld and forest fire south of Vryheid next to the old Babanango road. It started over towards the Stilwater smallholdings, and winds gusting up to 60km/h fanned the flames towards Klipfontein Dam. Alert land owners in the area and the Fire Prevention Association (FPA) have back-burned to contain the fire. And if you saw the fire-fighting helicopter heading north, there’s another forest fire in the area of Natal Spa.