Let’s all prevent wildfires

A LITTLE fire,” says Shakespeare, “is quickly trodden out, which being suffer’d rivers cannot quench.”

The truth of his assertion has been vividly affirmed by fires which raged across thousands of hectares of farmland around the Amatola mountains, destroying forest vegetation and grazing land in Stutterheim, Cathcart and Hogsback.

The question is, should we be expecting more wildfires?

Fires start for different reasons. Many fires are caused by humans and often by human carelessness. The weather collaborates towards or even causes such disasters. Moisture and the drought which has affected our province for several months has been an essential ingredient for the present epidemic.

A strong breeze not only increases the supply of oxygen, which enhances the combustion process, but also makes the work of those attempting to contain the fire more difficult – and dangerous.

Common sense can limit the threat of wildfires. When residents and campers are careless with burning trash, campfires and smoking, firefighters often pay the price, answering call after call to deal with life-threatening wildfires.

And once a fire has caught, the weather often aggravates its crime by providing a breeze to accelerate the rate of spread, bringing flames and heated columns of air from burning areas into contact with adjacent trees.

If only people were careful, the fires which devastated the Amatola mountains may have been preventable and certainly would not have grown into the disaster for the towns and mountains.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who has suffered from the latest wildfires. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to all the men and women working around the clock to protect the lives and property of communities.

It is absolutely vital that we learn from the latest wildfires and identify ways to minimise the damage caused by future fires.

We can resolve to stop fires happening again. I, like most of you, embrace my stewardship of nature, but that stewardship should include private sector solutions that use the natural resources of our forests in a way that maintains their beauty and vitality.

Keeping your family safe from fire is an awesome responsibility and requires constant attention to your surroundings. We need to take some critical steps to ensure our families know what to do if a fire does occur.

We know where wildfires will happen, and where they will cause the most damage. We only have to look for the most overgrown forests, as these provide a lot of fuel to start a catastrophic wildfire. We therefore need to be vigilant and proactive to avoid this catastrophe.

In the past wildfires have destroyed homes, businesses, and outbuildings. They threatened power grids, interrupt commerce, and put people out of work.

Repairing damage caused by extreme wildfires can cost millions and take a lifetime for vegetation to grow back.

Knowing the risks and being prepared for potential wildfires is the key to a successful fire response strategy. We urge citizens in areas which are at risk to take necessary precautions. That means staying informed and making a family fire response plan.

Here’s a list of some things you can do to prevent a fire-related tragedy in your area.

Keep matches and lighters out of children’s reach. Many fires are started accidentally by children playing with matches, often with tragic results;

Use extreme caution with smoking materials. Careless use of smoking materials is the number one cause of forest and home fire deaths.

Draw up a family escape plan. The only way to escape a fire is to know how to get out.

If a fire starts in your area, community or home, get out and stay out until it is safe to return.

Everyone is an important partner in helping us reduce the impact of wildfires by respecting government restrictions, using common sense when conducting debris burning and by reporting suspicious activity that may be related to arson.

Callous playing around with materials which can cause wildfires must end. The stakes are too high. We cannot sit by and watch more and more of our forests, grazing land, farms and even homes and property being destroyed by preventable wildfires.

Phumulo Masualle is premier of the Eastern Cape. Follow him on @EC_ Premier and on Facebook at Masincokole.