A resident stands near a still smouldering pit emanating from a possible underground fire in what used to be a wetland in Sehlakwane, Limpopo, 2 August 2021. Picture: Jacques Nelles
Billowing white smoke from a dead wetland has a community of a Limpopo village on the edge, sparking rumours of three people and several head of livestock being swallowed alive by the burning burning ground.
For over five years, the community of Zaaiplaas village in Sehlakwane, about a three and a half hour drive from Johannesburg, have lived in awe and terror of this burning peatland, with little explanation for why the ground beneath them is literally on fire.
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Without answers and his house and family metres away from the smouldering ground, Jacob Mabhena, has every reason to be concerned. His greatest fear is that the cause and extent of the smouldering peatland is not known, and could potentially extend into occupied property within the area.
“There has been lots of activity on the area but we still do not know what the cause of the fire is. All we have are conspiracy theories. It is important that we know, so that we can do what is best for our safety,” he told The Citizen.
According to Mabhena, it was in June 2016, the driest season in the region, when they noticed smoke coming from the ground during the day and glowing-red embers burning underfoot at night.
He said the fire was extinguished by pumping water into the area but the ground reignited the following year, and it was once again extinguished using the same method. The smoke, however, is billowing again, a signal that the peatland is once again fire.
“A geologist that my wife worked for examined the samples and warned us the ground was dangerous and will keep burning. Since then, the fire has returned for the second time,” Mabhena said.
But his neighbour, Ndate Maboa, is seemingly unperturbed, saying it was common for a dried-out wetland to catch fire.
He said there were too many theories about what is happening, including that it was a volcano, but said the fire will ultimately disappear once all the dried grass roots caught within the mud had burnt out.
“Some of us have seen this before and it is common knowledge that a mixture of dried mud and dried grass roots will catch fire,” Maboa said.
According to the Council of Geo-Sciences’ investigation report on the phenomena, the peat would not burn under normal circumstances, as it was normally moist.
It is believed though, that the above-normal temperatures and prolonged drought caused the ignition of the peat by a veld-fire.
“The drying of the peat resulted from the prolonged drought and very high temperatures experienced during the summer of 2015/2016. However, the extreme drying out of the peat could have been enhanced by the poor cover of grass and disturbance due to grazing of the vegetation. The upper layers of soil could also have been disturbed and peat was exposed by this disturbance and the cracking of the soil,” the report concludes.
The council believe the activity of humans and grazing animals further exasperated this event which would under normal natural circumstances not easily occur.
It was thought that the area would return back to normal given enough time and average rainfall, but the council recommended that, to assist and enhance natural processes, human and animal activities be minimized in the area until it had stabilised.
The council recommended that the area should be monitored by the local authorities in case the peat starts burning again, to prevent further injuries to humans and animals.
Though the council recommended that the area be immediately fenced off, this was not done and people were seen using this patch of land as a shortcut between the settlements when The Citizen visited the area.
According to the Sekhukhune district municipality, there was no scientific evidence at their disposal to back the claims that the peatland had ever reignited since 2016.
Spokesperson Moloko Moloto said the recent fire was caused by people, as was the case in other parts of the district where some residents burn the grassland ahead of the rainy session, with the hope that the soil will produce better grass for their livestock afterwards.
“The district municipality’s disaster risk management unit, continuously monitors and assess the area on behalf of the multi-sectoral team comprising stakeholders from the three spheres of government…” he said.
Moloto said the district municipality was unaware of deaths caused as a result of the burning peatland.
In August 2016, however, Limpopo Provincial Disaster Management Centre spokesperson Michael Moja was quoted as saying “three people were burnt by hot ash”.
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