Fires destroy farms, homes and grazing in the Bathurst area

“The whole farm is on fire!”

“I need help, my house is going up.”

“The horses and donkeys are in danger, we need you!”

The messages reflected the severity of conditions in the area, which has been facing drought conditions and an increasing number of fires and flare-ups, including a large fire a few weeks ago near Kenton/Kariega/Boknes.

The latest fire event had started on Saturday. However, dry veld conditions and flames fanned by strong gusty wind sent it out of control on Sunday.

Kanyiso Miti, assistant manager of Fire Protection Services at Agri Eastern Cape, said preliminary reports and analysis of satellite imagery indicated that some 2 000ha had been affected.

She said the full extent of losses had not yet been established, but confirmed they had received reports of farms and homes lost, as well as extensive infrastructure damage and loss of grazing.

Miti confirmed that Ndlambe Local Municipality officials and fire services had been attending to the blaze since Saturday in collaboration with various local Fire Protection Associations and volunteers.

Dry conditions coupled with the heat and the wind had not helped, though, and by Sunday afternoon the fire had blazed its way through numerous farms.

According to various local sources, including Talk of the Town newspaper, the Standerwick Nursery family farm had been destroyed, including homes of owners and staff, as well as other infrastructure.

A sanctuary for donkeys and blind horses, Blind Love Africa, based at Ostrich Spring farm, was also caught at the centre of the conflagration, with members of the Bathurst Riding Club rallying to try to move the vulnerable animals to safety.

Fences were cut and the panicked animals were herded to an overgrazed camp near the homestead in the nick of time as the camp where they normally live became a flaming pyre.

A vehicle belonging to one volunteer was consumed by flames as she abandoned it during the frantic rescue of the animals.

“It was terrifying,” horsewoman Shelley Handley told Farmer’s Weekly at the scene. She had hitched her horsebox to try to help move animals to safety and had parked in the road near the entrance to the farm to help evacuate animals from a tree-filled camp over the road.

“The wind turned as we were trying to get the animals towards the house and suddenly, we were all just running for our lives, just trying to get them and ourselves to safety,” Handley said.

All of the animals, 26 donkeys and 12 horses, were saved, with the homestead and the rest of the family kept safe in the midst of a ring of burning bluegum bush.

The most vulnerable, including two completely blind horses, Gracie and Blush, and a 40-year-old rescue named Willie, were moved to safe places in Bathurst due to fears of further flare-ups.

Phillipa du Toit of Blind Love Africa has confirmed that all donkeys, horses and sheep are accounted for and are being monitored for signs of respiratory distress.

Bathurst resident Patrick Grafton told Farmer’s Weekly he had coordinated with Eskom to ensure power could be restored to affected farms so that firefighters could operate pumps to access water.

“One of the fuses had blown after the fire destroyed a transformer box on a farm, but fortunately we were able to restore power so that others further along the line could at least get water.”

Grafton had visited numerous affected farms during the course of the afternoon and told Farmer’s Weekly he was aware of at least one home that had been entirely destroyed by the fire and several others that were partially destroyed or damaged.

The fire department, Working on Fire and volunteer groups continued to monitor the fire through the night, but hot, dry conditions led to constant flare-ups.

Miti said teams were still at work in the vicinity of Sweetwater farm on Monday and had been deployed to the St Francis Health Centre down the road from Ostrich Spring where the fire was threatening to flare up again.

She also confirmed they were investigating allegations of negligence by a non-Fire Protection Association member who was claimed to have been burning without a permit.

There was meanwhile a need for immediate support in firefighting efforts, with teams in desperate need of water to aid efforts. There was also the need for longer-term support for those who suffered losses.

“This is someone (a family) who has lost everything they have. Their home, their entire farm,” Miti sympathised.

She said any person who could offer any form of assistance, whether in providing firefighting resources or expertise, or in terms of feed aid or assistance for those in need, could email [email protected] or phone 041 363 1890.