A massive fire that started as a controlled block burn quickly raged out of control causing huge clouds of smoke to hang over Tzaneen and Magoebaskloof two weeks ago.
The fires happened near the Houtbosdorp and the surrounding Magoebaskloof areas. Land owners were burning fire breaks which caused a fire vortex which resulted in uncontrollable flames.
The flames were caused by cold mountain air and hot air rising from the fires, which made the fire jump and get out of control.
“Around 250 hectares of clear fell gum trees and wild bush burned. It was a block where conversion from plantation to grassland is undertaken. It is divided into blocks to systematically burn. Due to the fire vortex, it got out of hand.
No real losses were incurred but the fire had massive potential for a disaster fire,” Rouan Snyman of the Letaba Fire Protection Assosciation (LFPA) told Herald.
The LFPA spent over six hours fighting the fire with the assistance of two choppers. “The call came through from ZZ2 to activate the choppers as they are full aerial members of LFPA. We have the aircraft on standby during June-October for this purpose,” he explained the day’s events.
“I then called our LFDA dispatch operations centre, gave them the area, name of the fire, the radio channel to communicate, the incident commander name and proceeded to the fire to make contact with the land owner and assist him on his property before the first chopper’s water drops,” he explained the procedures followed.
“Helicopters are very effective and drop around 800-1200 litres of water in one go. They are able to reach inaccessible places. They do not put out the fires completely, therefore ground crews are very important. Without ground crews, fires tend to flare up again,” he said.
“Pilots usually get activated only under intense situations where wind and heat are the main factors.
Very steep terrain play tricks with the wind along with the rising heat from the fire,” he explained.
“A spotter aircraft is the hub for communication and look out for spot fires.
They can not let their guard down for a second or it will be catastrophic,” he said.
Snyman said the land is very dry and due to Covid-19, many land owners are behind with their fire breaks.
“There are many non-compliant land owners that do not adhere to the National Veldfire Act,” he concluded.
