Livestock, grazing destroyed
2003-09-02 15:50
Johannesburg - Devastating veld fires have caused millions of rands of damage across the country.
In the Eastern Cape, fires have been blazing over the last few days destroying grazing land, livestock and damaging infrastructure, including fences, water systems, farm buildings and fodder banks.
John Fobian of the police's Eastern Cape Disaster Management said: "The wind died down during the night. At the moment (the fires) are more or less under control and we are busy damping down hot spots."
He confirmed that one person had died and seven were injured in the fires in the province.
"We are still trying to put the fires out in Ida and Barkly East," said Fobian.
The fires have caused extensive damage, with thousands of hectares destroyed and cattle, sheep, goats, horses and buck on game farms killed, he said.
Amatole District Municipality's chief disaster management officer Nicky Hansen said it appeared that the fires were under control.
Hansen said a forest fire between Katberg and Mpofu game reserve destroyed 1 700 hectares of the forest, which represents over 80% of the total plantation.
A chalet was lost in the Maasdorp Valley Farm area near Seymour, she said.
In Heckel, about 30 houses, prefabricated buildings around the school and materials intended for the building of a new school were destroyed. The fire raged through the Bolo and Mgwali areas neighbouring Heckel, burning fencing and grazing, Hansen said.
The village of Gazela, Stutterheim, was ravaged by fire and workers' homes at the Gazela train siding near Amabele were damaged.
Hansen reported farms in the Amabele, Wriggleswade and Kei Road areas of Stutterheim, suffered extensive damage to grazing, fences, hay barns, chicken sheds, some homes and an abattoir. About 15 000 to 20 000 hectares had been destroyed.
A home in the Komga area, in the Great Kei/Komga Municipal area, was destroyed. The fire ravaged farming areas and the N2 was temporarily closed due to thick smoke. A double cab vehicle and a tractor were burnt out.
Fires in the Willowvale area of Mbhashe - the former Transkei - burnt many hectares of grazing and Mnquma also had various fires, Hansen reported.
Chief officer of the Grahamstown fire department, Nicholas Julius said on Tuesday they had two large bush fires in the area.
"One has been extinguished and the other is under control, although it is still smouldering," said Julius.
Mpumalanga
In Mpumalanga fires were under control, except for one flare-up in Bushbuckridge, aerial co-ordinator for the Forest Fire Association, Lizette Heine confirmed.
"The fires are burning old indigenous trees and alien invaders, which makes it difficult to contain. We are letting it burn out and just seeing it does not spread," said Heine.
On Wednesday Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi will tour the fire-ravaged regions of Mpumalanga. He will report back to Cabinet.
Free State
Mangaung local municipality fire chief Theuns van der Westhuizen said the major fire fuelled by dry, windy conditions in the eastern Free State had been doused by Monday afternoon.
There were several smaller fires burning, but they were all under control, Van der Westhuizen said on Tuesday.
Run-away fires in the rural Nkanini area near Eshowe on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast were all put out in the early hours of Tuesday morning, said Superintendent Hennie Smit of the Eshowe fire department.
The country has seen run-away fires in Mpumalanga, the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape over the past week due to a combination of hot, dry conditions and fierce wind.
- SAPA