WATCH: Arboretum exempt from load-shedding amid ongoing woodchip fire battle

The City of uMhlathuze has excluded Arboretum from load-shedding until Sunday amid ongoing efforts to fight the blazing woodchip stockpiles at the NCT mill in Richards Bay.

The municipality’s deputy city manager for electrical and energy services, Dolf Marais said this is to allow for uninterrupted water supply at the dam near Foskor, which has been instrumental in firefighting efforts.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Aerial fight against Richards Bay woodchip fire intensifies

“The wood stock next to the burning stacks is being kept wet to prevent it from catching alight, by fetching water from a dam next to Foskor.

“The water pump station in Arboretum supplies this dam and to ensure the water remains at a sufficient level, Arboretum will be excluded from load-shedding,” said Marais.

He said the network layout and equipment do not allow for isolated exclusion of the waterworks, and therefore the entire Arboretum suburb will not be switched off, effective from tonight (Thursday).

“The situation will be assessed on Sunday to decide if load-shedding will be reinstated as normal or if an extension is required.

ALSO READ: WATCH: NCT speaks on Richards Bay woodchip mill fire

“This will be communicated through the municipal SMS system and various social media platforms,” said Marais.

Meanwhile, provincial government has been roped in to boost the local teams and the municipality to extinguish the blaze.

The KZN departments of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) and Water and Sanitation have been tasked to assist with the deployment of additional water engineers to augment the water supply pressure from the fire hydrants.

“As part of augmenting the aerial firefighting operation, Cogta has submitted an urgent request via the National Disaster Management Centre for the SANDF to deploy additional resources to support the fire suppression operation.

“Ground resources are also being sourced from the neighbouring municipalities and stakeholders to provide relief to the operational staff who have been working since the start of this incident,” said the KZN Executive Council in a statement on Thursday.

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