Approximately 140 000ha of land were destroyed by veld fires in the Free State this year – a marked decrease from the 387 000ha destroyed in 2007.
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry’s control forester in the province, Malcolm Proctor, attributes this to, amongst others factors, farmers being better prepared and positive climatic conditions. “Farmers have been much more alert, their reaction times were faster and better monitoring structures were put in place,” he explained. “Firebreaks alongside the roads also played an important role in stopping smaller fires from spreading and getting out of control.”
He pointed out that the warmer winter resulted in fires starting later in the day and finishing earlier at night because of the increased moisture content in the air. Late winter rains also made the soil damp, which resulted in less intense fires. “But now it’s very dry and the soil moisture content is low, causing fires to burn later at night. For example, the recent fire in Ficksburg was blazing until 3:30am. Procter went on to say that people also made fewer fires on the side of the road because of the mild winter. This had always been a major issue with as many as 50% of veld fires in the State having been caused by such roadside fires in the past. Proctor also confirmed that an average of three people per year died in the fires over the past seven years. Last year, five people died in veld fires and this year, four people died in a traffic accident caused by smoke. The deceased were killed in a collision with a truck in heavy veld fire smoke near Vrede.
Arson remains a serious problem in the Free State and nine people have been arrested this season for allegedly starting fires. Six fires were started by a single person in the Soutpan district. “Nearly 18% of the surface area in the Bethlehem district was destroyed by veld fires this year and we have good reason to believe that it was due to arson. The pattern of these fires is also indicative of deliberate fire-raising. I’m also concerned about the fact that there are still people who use welding machines in the veld without proper fire protection.”
Meanwhile, vice-president of Free State Agriculture Dan Kriek said he was impressed with the camaraderie among the farmers and how they reached out to fire victims. “And we decided that no farmer will have to wait for help. If his veld is destroyed today, he will have fodder tomorrow. But this could not have been done without the full cooperation of all the Free State farmers and we thank them for that.” – Annelie Coleman
