Farms hit by Free State fires could take three years to recover

More than 100 000 hectares of pastures on 339 farms in the Free State have been severely damaged by what locals are calling the worst fires in years. 

A toxic mix of dry and hot weather coupled with protest action and a rogue spark from an angle grinder resulted in hundreds of farms in the Hertzogville, Boshoff, Dealesville and Hoopstad areas being adversely affected. 

Fires in Boshoff. Photo: M.A.P Scientific Services

According to Free State Agriculture (FSA) operations manager Dr Jack Armour, Hertzogville’s fire was due to protest action in the area, when tyres and a Jojo water tank were set alight. 

He said police had already begun investigating and suspects had been arrested.

The other fires were due to sparks from an angle grinder and welding machine, which rapidly spread due to dry and windy conditions, Armour said. 

The fires in Hertzogville, mapped by M.A.P Scientific Services. Photo: M.A.P Scientific Services

Preventing wildfires in hot weather

AgriSA disaster risk manager Andrea Campher said wildfires naturally occur in hot weather conditions with strong winds. 

From lightning to cigarette butts and high fuel loads in a veld, many things can cause wildfires.

“Even when farmers had 80 metre firebreaks, it was not enough to keep the flames from spreading.” 

To help the public better understand how big the areas impacted are, M.A.P. Scientific Services’ Anthony Purdon overlaid them with the City of Johannesburg. Photo: M.A.P. Scientific Services

The most recent fires certainly were man made and arguably avoidable, but farmers are urged to enforce the fire danger index applied in the forestry sector “and to keep people accountable when fires are man made”, Campher said. 

Another man made contributor to wildfires is subtle but devastating and comes in the form of climate change. 

Campher said intense changing climate had already been noticed by farmers, which places them at further risk. 

So, how are they prevented? 

“Changing climate is inevitable and land owners need to be part of local fire protection associations to control wildfires and inform other landowners timeously to mitigate further risks,” Campher explained. 

Beraamde 100 00ha verlore weens #veldbrande in VS. VL stel R100 000 beskikbaar maar versoek ook publiek se hulp – https://t.co/wONl0mjGUZ @landbou @ontbytsake @Fokusza @volksbladnuus @OFMNews9497 pic.twitter.com/USEwI7gjoi

— Vrystaat Landbou (@vslandbou) October 20, 2020

Declaring a state of disaster 

Armour said that with the transformation agenda, “all support goes to the emerging farmers and very little to commercial agriculture”.

He said even with disasters such as this one, emerging farmers receive more help. However, he said, the FSA does recognise these farmers often need the help more. 

“It’s just bad if a large percentage of the state disaster aid is given to the middleman and doesn’t reach the farmers,” he said. 

When the fires got out of control, fire protection associations and Working on Fire parastatal teams were called in and formed an incident control centre with the state’s disaster management officials. 

Working on Fire members were dispatched to fight the Boshoff blaze. Photo: Twitter/@wo_fire

After this, spotter planes and water bombing planes were deployed at the state’s expense, which Armour said helped significantly to prevent a further 300 000 hectares from being lost. 

In addition, farm workers assisted farmers in putting out blazes and farmers’ wives and volunteers helped feed truck drivers delivering donations. 

Farmers were overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation after receiving donations from across South Africa, following the devastating fires in the #FreeStateFires

WOF Teams assisted with the unloading and distribution. #wof_heroes#wof_fs#WorkingonFire pic.twitter.com/MjfhhIcIGN

— Working on Fire (@wo_fire) October 28, 2020

Campher said AgriSA informed the intensity of the fires at the national level but that it is the responsibility of local municipalities to have areas declared disaster areas in order to get more funding from the state. 

Damages incurred

Armour said farmers in Boshof, Hoopstad and Bultfontein who had been suffering for the past seven years due to a crippling series of droughts are now in an even worse financial position. 

He said livestock and game farmers were most affected by the fires, but some farmers in Hertzogville and Hoopstad are also crop farmers and their livestock trampled nearby maize fields. He added that the veld that was burnt was also their “spare veld”. 

Most affected farmers in Boshoff are livestock farmers, which means all their sources of income have been lost. 

Working on Fire teams were dispatched to tend to fires in Boshoff, Free State. Photo: Twitter/@wo_fire

“Cattle in some situations ran across seven farms to get away from the flames. Although there was no loss of life, we are aware of farmers who were seriously burned and we wish them a speedy recovery,” he said.

Armour confirmed it would take three years for the farmers’ land to recover. 

“If we only get good rains in January and February, and frost in April, the veld hasn’t really had enough time to recover in one season. So we are hoping for rain as soon as possible.” 

Despite the damage incurred, Campher assured that national food security would not be affected. 

However, she said the regional disaster would harm job creation. 

“This will by implication impact the local economy in the region, as unemployment may increase and farmers will be financially in distress.” 

A Working on Fire firefighter managed to save a tortoise while fighting fires in Boshoff, Free State. Photo: Twitter/@wo_fire

But in addition to the financial distress, Armour said that for some farmers, “the fires were the final straw that broke the camel’s back”. 

“The negative politics, racial hatred incitement and polarisation from less than 5% of the population on the extreme poles of our political spectrum after the Senekal murder has disappointed many South Africans.”

However, he said there was a glimmer of hope in the form of donations from all races and religions that have streamed in.

Armour said this has really given the country “incredible, new hope for a South Africa that can stand together and help each other to help lift us out of this crisis”.

According to eNCA, rugby legends Bakkies Botha and John Smit each donated R50,000 to help the farmers, Jacaranda FM listeners have donated R4 million, AfriForum and sister organisation Saai have received R4.5 million in donations, boxes are being packed for farmers in need and Caring for Daisies has sponsored 53 trucks to send donations to farmers in the affected areas. 

M.A.P. Scientific Services (MAPSS) said fire was integral to the landscape of South Africa, but if uncontrolled, they could spell disaster. 

Since March, MAPPS has recorded more than 95 000 fires across the country. 

“The devastation wrought by these fires last week highlights the risk of wildfire in South Africa,” said MAPSS’ Dr Pieter Olivier.

“It also shows us the importance of rapidly generating accurate data on fire occurrence in South Africa, which will play a critical role in better understanding and mitigating the risk of catastrophic wildfires.”

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