Fires in SouthernAfrica
Extreme Fires in Botswana and Southern Africa
01 September 2008
I Botswana
Botswana and the whole region of Southern Africa is experiencing a severe fire season
The recent La Nina rainy season has set the preconditions for high amounts of fuel and hence preconditions for a severe fires in the region.
Mega fires are burning in Botswana, (see image below, the major one has a size of 1.3 million ha already). Very difficult to contain them under given circumstances of equipment and ressource shortage .
Two lifes have been lost in the fires in Botswana.
30 August 2008
Source: MODIS / DFRR
Fire in the Kalahari ( Source: earth observatory)
A huge bushfire was burning in the Kalahari in western Botswana on August 29, 2008. The fire is near the western boundary of (and perhaps inside) Botswanas largest national park, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The area is in the Ghanzi district, Botswana’s least populated administrative district. The small city of Ghanzi, the district capital, is about 90 kilometers (56 miles) from the northwest perimeter of the blaze.
In this image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Terra satellite, actively burning areas detected by the sensor are outlined in red. The burned area is dark brown compared to the tan colors of the surrounding landscape, which is savanna in the reserve itself and transitions to the Kalahari Desert toward the southwest. August is near the height of the dry season in this area. The fire may be natural or caused by accidental or deliberate human activity. The large version of the image shows a wider area, including the lush vegetation of the Okavagno Delta to the north, and the bright, salt-laden soils of the Makgadikgadi Pans to the northeast.
29 August 2008
Latest MODIS fire detections
TERRA
31 August 2008
click on image for a detailed view on the Kalahari fire
(source: earth observatory)
II South Africa
Working on Fire WOF information as at 20H00 31/8/08 for todays fires:
Please note that these are only fires where WoF has been called to assist. It is not a summary for all Veld and Forest fire ignitions over the period.
For Mpu/KZN/FS/Gau
Total: 33 fires of which 18 are now controlled. [ not extinguished] All are veld and forest fires. Damage to dwellings and vehicles reported from KZN [Zululand]
19 houses razed at Mlalazi [ Zululand] A number of Plantation fires burning out of control [ MPU and Zululand ]
Aerial resources deployed: 10 spotter planes, 13 Bombers, 9 choppers.
Ground resources: 27 WOF ground firefighting crews and Helitack crews
Aerial firefighting has been hampered because of the extremely high winds. Aircraft have been forced to withdraw at some fires.
Ground resources will remain at fires overnight, where necessary and requested. Vredefort crew en route. 3 Western Cape crews on standby.
There have been no requests for ground teams that we have not been able to fill at this stage. Additional requests may be received tomorrow. The situation will be assessed in the morning.
Injuries: 1 WoF light injury reported today
1 Non-WoF injury unconfirmed
6 Civilians [ yesterday] 5 adults and 1 child, burn injuries after informal dwelling burnt, hospitalized
Fatalities: 1 Non- WoF Pilot in aircraft crash. Experienced pilot from New Zealand. Plane went vertical, crashed just after take off with full load in 400gallon turbine thrush. Suspected heart attack. CAA investigating.
Weather Monday: Slight cooling but strong winds expected to continue. No rain forecasted in the near future. Of real concern is that winds are expected to swing from West/ North West to West /South West. In firefighting terms this means that fire flanks will become fire heads. This could become very serious, depending upon terrain and fuel loads adjoining fires.
Updated information will be available after 10h30 AM Monday once the situational reports from the night have been assessed and redeployments made.
Below: Press release issued today
Val Charlton
Advocacy Manager
Working on Fire
WoF Press Release
Sunday , August 31
Howling gales ground aerial veld fire fighting teams
Some of the most devastating veld fires of the year raged through the north eastern parts of the country this weekend with wind speeds of 85km/hour recorded in some areas grounding aerial fire fighting resources and endangering ground veld fire fighting teams.
Forestry plantations, agricultural land, buildings and livestock were destroyed in more than 50 veld fires in KwaZulu Natal and Mpumalanga. On Sunday a new grass fire was burning near Bethlehem in the Free State while later in the day an out-of-control fire near Piet Retief in Mpumalanga chased towards the town.
Early Sunday a ground crew from the Working on Fire Programme was withdrawn from the fire line in the Qudeni State Forest in KwaZulu Natal when the fire became too aggressive to control. Working on Fire (WoF) is a government-supported veld fire fighting and prevention programme that employs and trains veld fire fighters from marginalized communities. WoFs provincial spokesman for Mpumalanga, Aderi Reyneke, said weather conditions remained dangerous the whole weekend with the Fire Danger Index shifting between high Orange and Red.
Its been hectic, she said, as fast as we get one fire under control another starts burning. At one time six fires were burning in the Nelspruit area and five in the Warburton area in Mpumalanga.This dry, windy, hot weather is perfect veld fire weather, Reyneke said. Traffic officials were forced to close the road between Ermelo and Piet Retief on Saturday when smoke from an out-of-control grass fire near Camden made driving dangerous. In this blaze several head of livestock and informal settlement dwellings were destroyed before veld fire fighters contained the blaze. Tracey Carter, WoF provincial co-ordinator for KwaZulu Natal said all WoF crews in the province were on full alert.
A hot Berg wind fanned fires across the province throughout the weekend, she said.On Saturday unwanted veld fires were burning simultaneously near Eshowe, Vryheid, Nottingham Road, Richmond and Qudeni. On Sunday WoF teams were assisting to put out unwanted veld fires at several locations in the Drakensberg, some in forestry plantations, but again were being hampered by high winds which grounded helicopters fitted with Bambi-buckets and bomber and spotter planes.
Issued by: HWB Communications (Pty) Ltd
On behalf of: Working on Fire Programme
For further information please also vist the GFMC media and news page at: https://gfmc.online/media-highlights-on-fire-policies-and-politics.html
