The fire started yesterday, Wednesday 18 September, on the farm, Waterval in the Senekal district and is burning in the direction of Bothasberg between Rosendal and Fouriesburg. CEO of the Free State Umbrella Fire Association, Thinus Steenkamp, said four Working on Fire (WoF) teams have been deployed so far.
“We estimate that the fire is approximately 14 km long and between 8km and 10km wide at about 10 o’clock this morning (Thursday). By that time it was burning 22km northwest of Fouriesburg. We are pulling in as many WoF teams from the rest of the province as possible,” he said.
The fire is burning in an extremely rugged and mountainous area. Steenkamp said it was inaccessible for motor vehicles and the fire fighters had to approach the fire on foot. It took one team an hour and 30 minutes of climbing in order to reach the flames.
“We do not have any aerial assistance, which exacerbates the problem tremendously. I call on landowners to remain extremely vigilant today and tomorrow. The strong winds coupled with high temperatures create ideal conditions for veld fires under the current dry conditions. With so many fire fighting teams deployed at today’s fire, a second fire could have catastrophic consequences for the province,” he said.
