16 Aug 2021

A team of 44 has been dispatched to put out the raging bush fire reported a week ago on the flanks of Mabuasehube Park, Khuis and Leserwane in  southern Kgalagadi.

The team comprises personnel from Department of Forestry and Range Resources,  wildlife and national parks, district disaster management committee, Botswana Police Service and Botswana Defence Force as well as community members.

Speaking in an interview Saturday, forestry department’s Kgalagadi district coordinator, Mr Tawana Maunganidze  called for more volunteers from communities saying that way the fire could be extinguished in a short space of time.

He said Mabuasehube Park flanks had been burnt to ashes which had impacted its biotic and abiotic environment.

The full extent of the damage has not been established as the fire is still active.

So far no loss of human life nor property damage have been reported. 

Mr Maunganidze said although investigations were still ongoing to determine the cause of the fire first reported on August 8, suspicions were that it was started by poachers. 

He therefore pleaded with the community to be on the lookout and report any suspicious people or activities to the authorities.

Mr Maunganidze called for caution when handling fire adding that a permit had to be obtained for bush clearing by fire.

 Improper use of bush fires had adverse effects on the environment through carbon emissions in the atmosphere resulting in global warming and consequently climate change, he said. 

Mr Maunganidze said the department anticipated an increased number of fire ignitions this year due to high fuel load in the form of abundant dry grass. 

“The district has already filed more than a dozen bush fire reports which were all successfully put out,” he said.

He said the department continued to develop ways of countering outbreaks such as maintaining a total distance of 970km total in fire breaks. 

Additional efforts included the recently launched Kgalagadi Bush Fire Risk Management Plan which would boost preparedness, mitigation and response strategies, he said.

For his part, Maleshe Kgosi Gabriel Ntau expressed  fears that the fire, first spotted along the Mabuasehube road, was gradually getting closer to the village. 

Kgosi Ntau encouraged the community to help put out the fire as it was damaging the environment. 

He expressed concern that the fire might result in some plant species becoming extinct.

Kgosi Ntau advised people to refrain from littering which he said could cause fires, especially under extreme temperatures. 

 

Glass bottles and tins were particularly dangerous as they could ignite dry grass thereby causing bush fires, he warned. ENDS