Tuesday, 6 September 2011

Zululand is ablaze

A bomber drops its load on one of the many fires which raged through the Melmoth area on Friday

Fire fighters were pushed to their limits on Friday as the Fire Danger Index rose to Code Red and just under the maximum of 100 at Babanango with 82km/hr winds. In the Melmoth area with a temperature of 31 degrees Celcius and an FDI also in the Red with an index of 75, VR Timbers outside Melmoth burnt down with staff housing being totally destroyed in the fire. Staff were left desperate next to the road with the few belongings they managed to rescue before the houses were gutted. Water bombers were active throughout the day dropping loads of liquid on the timber plantations on the southern side of Melmoth. Relief came later in the day with the wind changing to the south-west and 3.8mm of rain falling in the early hours of Saturday morning. The situation continued to be critical in the Babanango region with no precipitation overnight although the temperature did drop with a corresponding lower FDI. Along the coast, Nyalazi north of Mtubatuba encountered winds up to 50km/hr with temperatures reaching 39.9 degrees Celcius at 1.15pm. Early morning rain measuring 1.3mm on Saturday brought slight relief, but the fire fighters are still on stand-by as mopping up continues. An FDI of 90 was recorded at KwaMbonambi with 61km/hr winds and a maximum temperature of 38 degrees being recorded at 12.30pm.

Other areas
Over and above the fires in the Mthonjaneni area, uThungulu Disaster Management reported fires in the Nkandla and Ntambanana regions. No loss of life has been reported. In Nkandla Municipality fires were being monitored and attended to in Matsheni ezimbuzi, oHlelo, eMahlaiizeni, eMpotholo and aMazambaneni with an unknown number of houses being destroyed at eMahlaiizeni. Grass fires have been confirmed in the Kwatiki and Jabulani areas under the Ntambanana Municipality. This situation remains critical and the uThungulu Manager: Disaster Management, Sibonisile ‘Sbo’ Mokoena has appealed to communities to stop lighting fires. ‘Our resources are stretched beyond their capacity due to the limited equipment,’ said Mokoena. Most of the affected areas do not have water and if a fire truck does not reach a blaze, lives could be lost. Access is also a challenge especially in the Ntambanana Municipal area. All affected communities will be counting the costs and the true picture of the situation in the rural areas will only be known as reports are received from the outlying areas.