Fires continue to rage

2003-09-01 18:20

Nelspruit - Fires continue to rage in Mpumalanga and the Free State with hot, dry conditions and winds fuelling their fury.

Already tens of thousands of hectares have been destroyed at a cost of millions of rands.

On Wednesday this week Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi will tour the fire-ravaged regions of Mpumalanga. He will report back to cabinet.

And while most of last week's fires in Mpumalanga have been extinguished, weather forecasts suggest more could flare up in the next few days.

Disaster management spokesperson Dale Nortje said on Monday the Parks Board was monitoring the situation in the region as was the incident command centre in Nelspruit.

However, he said weather forecasts suggested conditions conducive to fire lay ahead.

"The fire index is orange for the next few days and that is not good, it means it will be very dry and we are expecting wind," said Nortje.

He said it was estimated a total of 44 000 hectares had been damaged by recent fires in the region. Most of those blazes had now been extinguished.

Free State

Meanwhile, a major fire in the eastern Free State fuelled by dry, windy conditions, was keeping emergency workers busy on Monday afternoon.

Theuns van der Westhuizen, fire chief for the Mangaung municipality, said the fire was burning along a 10km stretch from Thaba 'Nchu to Excelsior. The area comprises hilly regions and grazing land.

He said 30 firefighters were "really battling" to contain the blaze.

Van der Westhuizen said it was not known what caused the fire, which started at about 14:00 on Sunday, but it was more than likely caused by negligence.

He said the fire was not close to any main roads at this stage but if weather conditions altered that could change.

- SAPA