GEORGE NEWS - It is fire season, but no firebreaks have been created between the forest at the foot of the mountain and the surrounding neighbourhoods on the edge of town, warns a resident from one of these areas.
She had a close encounter with the October 2018 fire. "I am very concerned about the lack of preparation for the fire season. Some residents have started clearing overgrown land in front of their properties in the hope that it will provide some protection.
"The 2018 fire that came over and down the mountain right to our properties is still fresh in everyone's mind. We fled our home. The flames were licking at our neighbour's boundary wall and a relative used a hosepipe to keep everything wet. There are no fire hydrants nearby."
If the wind had not changed direction back to the mountain, many homes would probably have been razed to the ground.
George Herald wanted to know from the George and Garden Route District (GRDM) municipalities what is being done to prepare for the fire season. GRDM referred the newspaper to George Municipality, that is the "first responder".
Neels Barnard, chief fire officer for George Municipality, said the municipality has a comprehensive disaster management plan for George which includes an evacuation plan.
"The George municipal disaster centre has identified and continues to maintain multiple fire breaks in strategic locations. These firebreaks played a crucial role during the 2018 fires.
"One of the strategic placements is north of Denneoord above property belonging to the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DFFE). Plans are in place to do control burns of sections of the CapeNature grounds between the firebreaks and DFFE plantations for risk mitigation."
A control burn was done on Tuesday in the area north-east of Denneoord. Photo: Heidi Myburgh
He said weather conditions and operational requirements have not allowed for all of the control burns to take place prior to summer season so far.
"Each landowner, that is, DFFE, CapeNature and George Municipality, is fully aware of their responsibilities in terms of firebreaks. The complainant is welcome to provide details of where clearing is taking place on municipal grounds so that this can be investigated and addressed if required."
No comment was received from DFFE.
After the 2018 fire, the late Dr Jaap Steenkamp, a leading figure in the forestry industry, warned that action was needed immediately "to avert a bigger disaster in a few years' time".
He said no management will be executed on land of the Forestry Department and CapeNature and, "We will end up with the fire risk. They do not have the capacity to manage the land, let alone the risks associated with it."
The complainant said her concern is also that residents who do bush clearing themselves, might not all be doing it correctly, which can also create a risk. More information sharing and communication from the authorities with the public are needed regarding this.
"We are all sitting in our homes, not having a clue as to what is going on and when you approach the authorities, they are not helpful at all."
The George disaster centre did a control burn north-east of Denneoord on Tuesday 15 November.
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