BWgovernment
2 Std. ·
FIRE RAVAGES LETLHAKENG SUB-DISTRICT AREAS

Veldt fires that have been ravaging some areas of Letlhakeng Sub-district have reportedly caused a substantial damage to pasture in the area, thereby affecting both wildlife and domestic animals.

The fire followed one that broke out at Dutlwe on September 2, but was contained on September 5, two days before the other two started.

In an interview, the chief technical assistant from the Department of Forestry and Range Resources in Letlhakeng, Mr Olebile Kolojane said the two separate fires simultaneously broke out at Khutse Game Reserve near Kaudwane as well as near Tshwaane on September 7.

“We suspect that both fires were caused by lightening on the same day and burnt until we managed to contain them last Thursday after two weeks. I cannot at the moment ascertain the number of hectares the fire burnt down because we are still to have data on that, but I know that the damage is substantial as at one point around Tshwaane, we travelled around 50km just to cross the damaged area,” he said.

Mr Kolojane also hailed the Tshwaane community for selfless volunteerism, saying without their assistance, the fire could have done even more damage.

“Normally, when fires break out, we have a challenge of community involvement, but at Tshwaane the community was so helpful,” he said, also indicating that the fire at Tshwaane was also contained because of the well maintained fire breaks.

He said it was unfortunate that fire at the Khutse side broke at the time they were yet to maintain the fire breaks.

Mr Kolojane also indicated that what led to the fires damaging a wide area was the windy condition that they faced during the two weeks it was burning.

He said they often managed to subside the fires during the night, only for the fires to gain strength during the day when the teams were on a break, thereby reversing the gains. BOPA

Gruß Gina