Worst fire season in seven years
There has been 439 fires over the past three months (1 June to 17 September) in KwaZulu-Natal.
WORKING on Fire (WoF), the Department of Environmental Affairs’ programme to help fight veld and forest fires in South Africa, has been hard at work fighting 439 fires over the past three months (1 June to 17 September) in KwaZulu-Natal.
For this reporting period, it has been described as the worst fire season in seven years.
KZN’s runs from June to November.
Despite many flare-ups across the province, the WoF teams managed to limit the areas burnt to 19 300ha, thereby minimising loss of lives, property and biodiversity.
In many instances, these fires were directly caused by the continuing high and dry temperatures which were prevalent in the winter fire season across the province.
WoF has a total of 730 firefighters stationed at 28 bases across KZN, supported by two spotter planes and two helicopters. Resources from Fire Stop – 10 bombers and five spotter aircraft – are also available when needed.
WoF KZN General Manager Maindren Chettiar said, ‘Through our partnerships with Fire Protection Associations (FPAs), Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, various private and public landowners and local municipalities, we will be able to respond quickly and render a highly skilled veld fire suppression service, which is unparalleled anywhere in South Africa.
‘What has made the success of this programme, now in its 11th year, even more remarkable is the fact that these firefighters are from poor and destitute communities as part of the government’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).’
The WoF programme not only limits damaging fires, but also contributes to addressing poverty, crime and youth unemployment.
‘WoF beneficiaries are employed all year round, and apart from their firefighting work during the fire season, they also participate in fire prevention campaigns in communities mostly affected by veld fires.
‘They also do fire prevention initiatives such as fuel load reduction, prescribed burning, creation of fire breaks and safety campaigns before the start of the fire season’, Chettiar said.
