Image: The smouldering glow of the fire that devaststed York Timber's plantation at the bottom of the Long Tom Pass
NELSPRUIT - As palls of smoke were belched into the sky, firefighting teams from all over the Lowveld were deployed to battle rampant wildfires that seared through bushveld and plantations on Wednesday afternoon.
Fuelled by powerful, hot winds and a fire danger index of 56 (yellow), Lowveld Fire
and Escarpment Protection Agency (Lefpa) reported a total of 16 registered fires that broke out in the province on August 1, with four of them occurring in the Lowveld.
By 19:00, the top of the mountain at the Nelspruit turn-off of the Long Tom Pass was a canvas of glowing embers, after a wildfire laid waste to whole sections of York’s plantations.
According to Ms Jackie Van Wyk of Lefpa, three Working on Fire (Wof) ground teams and four aircraft were dispatched to contain the blaze that broke out shortly after noon.
Four choppers and a spotter plane from Bird Dog Aviation in Graskop were also added to the aerial fighting effort. By Thursday morning, aircraft were still seen circling the area as operations continued in the Long Tom Pass.
In Nelspruit, a team from Wof, supported by the Mbombela Fire Department and Off-Road Rescue Unit embattled a rampant blaze that tore through the Rhenosterkop Valley. According to fire chief, Mr Jacques Stasson, it originated on the R40 when an Eskom transformer near Chimp Eden exploded at approximately 13:00.
Mr Theo van Rooyen, who lives at the top of the hill in Rhenosterkop told of how he heard the fire approaching before he saw it.
"It sounded like a steam locomotive coming over the mountain. Trees exploding in its path sounded like gunfire at one point," Van Rooyen said.
While it came dangerously close to a number of properties in Rhenosterkop, the teams, which were engaged in firefighting operations until 22:00 succeeded in protecting them against the blaze.
By Thursday morning, there had been no report of any structural damage to any of the properties in the valley.
The months of August, September and October are the most dangerous for fires in the province and no burning is permitted.
Residents are urged to be especially diligent in the extinguishing of any fires or burning objects during this time.
Fire index forecast for the weekend:
Friday: Green 45
Saturday: Yellow 50
Sunday: Yellow 53.
(Subject to change)
- Looklocal
No comments:
Post a Comment