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GEORGE NEWS & VIDEOS - He will bet his last cent on it that there will be another fire in the area this year. So warned Monde Stratu, municipal manager of the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM), on Tuesday at a workshop titled "Turning wildfire lessons into action plans". The workshop was based on a report by Vulcan Wildfire Management containing analysis and recommendations regarding the 2017 Knysna fires.
Role players in the Garden Route, including GRDM Mayor Memory Booysen, George Mayor Melvin Naik, and Knysna Mayor Mark Willemse, attended.
Stratu said climate change is a reality and emphasised that the report should be used to develop action plans and not be allowed to gather dust. He was also worried about the fact that the need for large-scale evacuation in Knysna had caught everybody unprepared. "We were not ready as a region." He said ways must be found to avoid a similar degree of destruction in future.
Ryan Heydenryck of Vulcan Wildfire management stressed that coping systems should be in place. Firstly, alert systems, which would have made a big difference in the Knysna situation. Secondly, the use of resources. It is impossible to deal with all the fires all the time and resources must be used intelligently. Thirdly, wider sharing of knowledge. If the conditions before the Knysna fires had been looked at it would've been clear that a disaster was imminent. He was pleased that the lesson to improve communication was learnt from the Knysna fires, and applied last year with the fires in George.
Watch 2 videos below:
Freddy Thaver, fire chief of the GRDM, said nobody was prepared for the magnitude of the Knysna fires, but that they "prepared us for a larger fire in George in 2018."
He said things are different from 30 years and even 10 years ago and technology must be used in dealing with the present situation.
Clive Africa, executive manager of community services of the GRDM, spoke to the George Herald regarding the origin of the George fires.
He said speculation about the origins of the fire can't be allowed. The investigation is ongoing and all stakeholders are involved.
"We don't have scientific proof and we requested the CSIR to assist us with scientific proof before we make an official announcement."
Mark Willemse, mayor of Knysna.
Monde Stratu, municipal manager of the Garden Route District Municipality.
Photos: Eugene Gunning
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