Veld blazes dangerous during fire season
Although the fires at times start as a result of natural fallouts, most of the time they are a result of unattended fires set by people. Tshwane Emergency Services Department warns against veld fires as the region’s fire season sets in.
Although veld fires might most times not cause harm to human life they can leave the environment severely damaged and can kill animals.
What started as a veld fire on Table Mountain in the Western Cape in April led to a fire that expanded uncontrollably, gutting several buildings including the University of Cape Town building, damaging property and the environment.
It took several days to put out the flames while the central city of Cape Town was smothered in smoke. Back home in Pretoria over the past month and the past week, which marks the middle of the fire season (April and August), there were open field fires at areas along the Magaliesberg Mountain in Montana and in the Waverly area.
Although not as dangerous as the Table Mountain breakout, yet, the incidents have prompted the Tshwane emergency department cautioning residents.
Spokesperson Charles Mabaso said they were experiencing an increased volume of veld fire incidents with the areas most affected being agricultural areas in the northern and eastern parts of Tshwane and along the Magaliesberg Mountain.
Although the fires at times start as a result of natural fallouts, Mabaso said most of the time they were a result of unattended fires set by people. “Veld fires may start as a result of sun radiation concentrated on a reflective object like broken glass around dry vegetation in rare circumstances.
Most fires are, however, a result of deliberate or accidental human action,” Mabaso said. “It’s important for parents to educate and inform children not to cause fires by playing with matches or lighters. The rise in veld fire incidents is sometimes noted during school holidays as delinquent youth may deliberately cause fires.
Such actions are criminal offences and if found, one may be criminally charged.”
Mabaso said many people also had a culture of setting alight dry vegetation with the belief that it would encourage regrowth of plants.
He, however, said such actions were destructive to the environment and could cause harm to the local ecosystem.
“While we understand that we are in a fire season, the risks can be better managed if we all do our part. Property owners near areas with vegetation have a responsibility to ensure proper house-keeping by creating fire breaks between their properties,” Mabaso.
“Controlled burning for fire breaks should only be done when authorised by the Chief Fire Officer. Uncontrolled vegetation fires have the risk of fire spreading because a proper risk assessment might not have been carried out.
“The change in wind direction and intensity may lead to runaway fires that may destroy ecosystems in the affected area as well as life and property.”
Mabaso also urged residents throughout the length of the Magaliesberg Mountain to ensure firefighters can gain access to all areas, as firefighters often struggle to get to areas because of residents closing access routes possibly for security reasons.
“Residents in agricultural/towering vegetation areas must observe the fire danger index (FDI) that is issued by the South African Weather Services daily and be on high alert for veld fires and dial 107 immediately upon noticing signs of veld fires.”
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