Heavy fuel load could result in ‘extreme fire season’ for SA
14 April 2022
Published by: https://www.farmersweekly.co.za
SOUTH AFRICA – With the winter fire season getting underway in South Africa, Agri SA has warned its members to prepare for a more destructive fire season than normal.
With the winter fire season getting underway in South Africa, Agri SA has warned its members to prepare for a more destructive fire season than normal.
This was due to the exceptional rainfall received across most of the country during summer, which had resulted in “extremely vigorous accumulation of plant materials that could fuel fires more than usual.
“The time has come where we need to start managing disasters in a better way. We have to focus more on mitigation and less on crisis management,” said Willem Symington, chairperson of Agri SA’s Natural Resources Centre of Excellence.
He was speaking during a webinar on Thursday (13 April), attended by more than 500 landowners.
Emil Pretorius, business development manager for agriculture at Santam Insurance, said last year 86 000 incidents of wildfires were recorded in the Free State, North West, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape.
“These fires destroyed 2,3 million hectares of land, as well as the infrastructure and other assets that was on the land.”
Pretorius stressed that farmers not only had to take out insurance on their properties, but they also had to seriously consider joining a fire protection agency (FPA).
“If you are not part of a FPA and fire breaks out on your property, you are immediately suspected of negligence in terms of the National Veld and Forest Fire Act No. 101 of 1998.”
Jean-Pierre du Plessis, head of business development at Africa Data Technologies, told delegates that farmers also needed to use information technology to their advantage when it came to fire-fighting.
“Technology can be very effectively used for disaster reporting. And one does not need to create new tools. Simply use the ones that are already at your disposal, but use it more effectively.”
When a fire broke out, farmers had to contact their local FPA, send photos of the fire, and tag the specific location of the fire in the text message.
It was also crucial to prepare access to one’s property for the firefighters, according to Du Plessis.
Pretorius explained that landowners needed to meet five requirements to remain within the law:
- Every owner on whose land a veld fire may start, burn, or spread must prepare and maintain a firebreak on his/her side of the boundary between his/her land and any adjoining land.
- Every owner must have equipment, protective clothing and trained staff to extinguish fires as prescribed.
- In his/her absence, the owner must ensure that persons were present on or near his/her land, who in the event of a fire would extinguish it, or assist in doing so.
- Every owner must take all reasonable steps to notify a fire protection officer or executive member of the FPA, as well as the owner of the adjoining land about any wildfires.
- Every owner must do everything in his/her power to stop the spread of a fire.
