5 000 ha lost to wildfires in Limpopo, says Working on Fire
During the past week, WOF responded to 12 wildfires of which seven occurred on Sunday, 29 September 2019.
POLOKWANE – The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries’, Working on Fire (WOF) Program in Limpopo has responded to 88 fires since the beginning of the 2019 winter fire season, says Provincial Communications Officer, Matema Gwangwa.
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Due to intervention and fire awareness campaigns that were run by firefighters and community fire awareness officer, Sello Matlhare, there has been a decline in wildfires in the province during the month of August, where only 27 wildfires were reported as compared to the month July that had 38 wildfires reported.
“There’s also a decline in terms of the damage caused by the fire with a total of 1,942 hectares burned in August 2019 and 2,985 hectares in July 2019,” Gwangwa said. She noted that communities are responding positively to the workshops and are putting precautionary measures to practice.
However, Felicia Ngwasheng, Ground Operations Manager for WOF in Limpopo’s South Region says there has been an incline in the number of fires in the Waterberg District.
WOF has partnered with Fire Protection Associations, Government departments, municipalities and communities to save lives, protect the environment and infrastructure.
“We are pleading with communities to report all wildfires to relevant emergency services in their area as soon as possible in order to minimise the damage that these wildfires cause in our society” concluded Ngwasheng.
