Kruger National Park gears up for fire season
In anticipation of the winter fire season, the Kruger National Park has begun implementing plans to manage and mitigate the risks of fire in the park.
The Kruger National Park (KNP) is implementing management plans for the winter fire season, which usually takes place between June and October.
In a statement, the KNP said wildfires are a common and natural occurrence in the park, which is found in the savannah biome (also referred to as tropical grasslands). And like the fynbos biome (the Cape Floristic Region), it is dependent on fires to keep the ecosystem functioning in a healthy manner.
In the KNP, sufficient grass coverage is required to sustain a fire, which is highly dependent on how much rainfall the park received during previous summer months. Years with high rainfall leads to more grass growth and ultimately more area burnt during the dry season. This past summer season saw less rainfall compared to the abnormally high rainfall experienced during 2022/23.
Unlike the previous fire season where we experienced more than 20% of KNP burning due to extremely high grass volumes following exceptional rainfall, this year we are only expecting about 10-15% to burn. Due to a combination of techniques such as field reports from rangers and advanced satellite mapping applications, the park is able to monitor these fires throughout the year.
The KNP has been part of the Greater Kruger Fire Protection Association (FPA) for years, which allows for greater communication and administrative support for the use of wildfires as a management tool and to promote fire safety in and around the KNP.
According to the statement, the rangers’ teams started with controlled burning earlier in the dry season in order to break up the grass coverage and reduce the risk of larger wildfires later on in the dry season. The teams have been burning firebreaks around infrastructure such as camps, entry gates, staff facilities and along the park’s boundary.
Proactive fire management by reducing fuel load, burning firebreaks and preparing a well-trained and equipped team of personnel, in partnership with Working on Fire (WOF), allow management to be better prepared for this year’s fire season.
