The Cape Winelands District Municipality’s Fire Services, together with partners, CapeNature are responsible for the management of fires affecting all wildland and veld and other rural areas throughout the District.
“Beating a wildland fire and protecting lives and livelihoods, is never achieved through an individual team or organisation. It can only be achieved through integrated planning, pooling knowledge and resources from a variety of role players, prior, during and after a fire,” shares Wayne Josias, Chief Fire Officer at CWDM.
Fire and the effects thereof are sadly a well-known phenomenon to many in Cape Winelands. However, there are ways in which to protect one’s homes, crops and life by ensuring a few basic practices.
Fire breaks, clearing of dry bushes and aged vegetation around orchards, stores and other buildings can greatly reduce loss because of fire. Landowners should make sure that there are well maintained fire breaks.
“Not all veldfires are bad,” Mr Josias says. The CWD’s unique floral kingdom, Fynbos, which includes Proteaceae and Ericas, are what is known as a fire-driven eco-system. This means that fire can be advantageous. “But,” says the fire chief, “in general, these plants only need fire every 12 – 15 years. All too often, veldfires occur in areas that are popular for social activities, this means that young veld burns before plants have reached maturity and thus ensure that the species regenerates. When a fire is advantageous, we will together with CapeNature sometimes only monitor, to ensure that it does not spread to areas where it will damage this delicate eco-system.”
Aged eucalyptus and pine plantations, unmaintained areas of open land, alien vegetation and illegal dumping, cause huge problems for firefighters. Old plantations, often found situated in between orchards, create very specific kinds of problems. The old bark and leaves together with stumps left behind after wood chopping create perfect tinder for fires. It is vital that these areas remain clear of dry vegetation.
Unmaintained tracts of land are often found adjacent to formal and informal estates. Alien vegetation, such as Wattle and Port Jacksons are high in natural resins, this means that they burn at a very high temperature. Further to this, these trees are often cut down by firewood vendors, unfortunately, all too often, only the wood that is of value is removed, leaving behind lots of smaller branches and untreated stumps. These stumps not only grow new shoots, but these new branches, are very thin and ultimately tangle together creating an umbrella that is impenetrable. When a fire occurs in this densely overgrown ‘umbrella’, the teams cannot access the fire with hoses and need to wait until the fire reaches open areas before firefighting can take place.
Illegal dumping and alien vegetation as described above further hampers firefighting activities as the ground is often very uneven, sandy and/or very rocky, making the area difficult and dangerous to move in.
“As we commemorate Fire Safety Day, we also look ahead to the upcoming fire season. It is not too late to prepare. Landowners and homeowners, especially those living close to natural areas, still have time to clear the spaces around their homes. Owners of vacant land should ensure that alien vegetation is removed, that clearing is done correctly, and that all waste is properly disposed of. Together, we can make this fire season a safe one for our citizens, animals, and beautiful natural environment,” shares the Executive Mayor of the Cape Winelands District Municipality, Ald (Dr) Elna von Schlicht.
