With a warmer than usual summer season due to the El Niño climate event, there has been an upswing of veld fires in Cape Town over the last few months.
From December to January, the City of Cape Town’s fire and rescue services have attended to over 1 100 vegetation fires in the northern suburbs of the city, according to fire and rescue chief Jermaine Carelse. For the same period last year, a total of 761 veld fires were recorded in the area.
According to Swiss air quality company IQ air, the phenomenon has a meaningful impact on global weather that includes a noteworthy, predicted increase in wildfire risk in some regions.
Apart from the usual factors in play, Carelse agrees that the hotter, drier and windier conditions have made matters worse.
“Various things cause the fires such as discarded cigarette butts, and open fires that were left unattended, as well as lightning strikes,” he told TygerBurger last week.
He advises residents to be prepared in the event of veld fires around their homes and neighbourhoods.
“Firstly residents should know the emergency number. Secondly good housekeeping is paramount – keep the area free of combustible material, trim overhanging branches and clear dry bushes or grass that is easily ignited,” says Carelse.
El Niño climate event
El Niño is referred to as the warming of the ocean surface, or above-average sea surface temperatures, in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
The South African Weather service last year warned that the current El Niño state is expected to persist through most of the summer months. According to its forecast minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to be mostly above-normal countrywide for the forecast period.
Even so, says Carelse, fire and rescue services are well prepared.
“Fortunately, the City is in a fortunate position that we have sufficient resources and manpower at all 32 fire stations. There are numerous additional vehicles as used in the event of a breakdown or malicious damage to vehicles. The City was on two occasions forced to activate the Mutual Aid Agreement with neighbouring municipalities on the 21st and 25th December where several major fires tied up resources. Municipalities that heeded the call to assist was Swartland, West Coast, Stellenbosch, Overstrand, Cape Winelands and Drakenstein,” he says.
He adds, the northern suburbs are serviced by resources from fire stations in Goodwood, Bellville, Durbanville, Kraaifontein, Atlantis, Melkbos and Milnerton.
