SOUTHERN CAPE NEWS - According to a press statement on the summer fire season from Working on Fire, the Southern Cape has been hit the hardest in the Western Province.
The summer fire season was marked by a number of "multiple-day" fires. Among these, fires in the Southern Cape caused substantial damage, according to the statement.
From 1 to 31 December, Working on Fire had to despatch ground teams 107 times to support their partners. This included local municipalities, fire protection associations and large landowners, in suppressing 25 fires.
The Southern Cape was the busiest and accounted for 15 of the 25 fires and 83 of the dispatches. It is estimated that 20 807 hectares of land were burnt in the Western Cape in December of which 19 000 hectares were reportedly in the Southern Cape.
During a number of these fires, aerial support had to be called in to douse flames and in so doing offer support to the ground teams, ultimately responsible for putting out the fires. The total number of hours flown by the aerial support this season was 224.64. Again, the majority of those hours (164 hours) were flown during operations in the Southern Cape.
Working on Fire general manager Melany Durthie-Surtie says the unpredictable weather caused heavy winds and high temperatures.
"Areas that burned are those we have identified as hot spots. They were areas that had not burned in the previous fire season. The communities should play a role in reporting fires to the closest local fire stations."
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