This is a timely reminder that fire season is well underway, so please do not light fires until we get our first spring rains and the risk is sufficiently lowered. If you need to deal with leaves and other garden waste, why not use the opportunity to make a compost heap or use a chipper to make mulch for your flower beds, which retains the moisture and warmth to protect plants during winter.
As we all know, fires emit smoke with hazardous particulates that make breathing difficult for those with asthma or any other respiratory problems. It also releases carbon which adds to greenhouse gas levels, implicated in Global Warming.
For those of us who live under thatch, it is an even more worrying time, so please spare a thought for the safety of others before deciding whether to light a fire.
This photo from today's Witness shows the fire we saw yesterday in the NCT plantation below Devonshire Lane, towards Boughton. It was quite an aerial display by the bombers and the spotter plane. The wind was very strong, hence the need for the aerial intervention.
Please ensure your family, staff and contractors know about fire safety and take extra care during this dry season.
The uMgungungdlovu District Fire Department operates from Howick and will respond to any fires in our area. This is the number I have for them:
0800 033 911
We are particularly vulnerable in the Winterskloof Valley to the risks from fire to people and property, due to the proliferation of alien invasive plants which tend to burn hotter, the lack of water for fire-fighting and little access for fire-fighting equipment. In previous fires we found out they could not fight fires on steep slopes and that there is a lack of exit points for a mass emergency evacuation.
News shared by Judy Bell of Winterskloof Conservancy.