F State fires wreak devastation
2010-09-07 19:17
Bloemfontein - Fires have destroyed 151 000ha of grazing in the Free State over the past seven days, the agriculture, forestry and fisheries department said on Tuesday.
Department spokesperson Malcolm Procter said about 236 000ha of grazing had so far been destroyed by fire in the province this year.
The fire that had raged over an area of about 65 000ha between Fouriesburg and Clarens was under control, he said.
The fire near Rosendal, also in the eastern Free State, which was burning over 6 000ha, was also under control but not totally extinguished.
Two other fires, one of which destroyed 35 000ha of grazing on the border between KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State, and another near the Willem Pretorius Reserve at Ventersburg, which destroyed 20 000ha, were also extinguished on Tuesday.
Another 5 000ha of vegetation were also destroyed near Viljoenskroon.
Meanwhile, 55 golf carts were destroyed by a fire at the Vaal de Grace Golf Estate at Parys in the northern Free State late on Sunday night.
Estate spokesperson Chris Dreyer said Parys firefighters arrived on the scene, but the equipment "failed".
Neighbouring farmers arrived with fire fighting equipment and prevented the fire from spreading.
Dreyer said the clubhouse and golf course were not damaged in the fire.
- SAPA