Happy New Year -- let us hope that the awful fire will soon be over. But oh dear what will all our animals live on in the coming months. Some parts of the 12000 ha that have burned were in need of fire. But much was not and in those areas the endangered fynbos could see many species lost. And for the animals having so little of the Biosphere Reserve survive the fire is going to mean real hardships in the coming months. But it is amazing how resilient nature can be - and Rooielsers can be counted on to give a helping hand. The Fire
Overstrand Traffic Update Thursday 10.01.2019 @ 16:30 Unfortunately the R44 Clarence Drive between Rooi Els and Gordon's Bay will remain CLOSED due to active fire conditions in the area, which have now burned 11 500 hectares. The Blog Below has some details on the fire and the implications for the fynbos and was written on Weds 9th. You can continue to get updates from Greater Overberg FPA. The Breeze – the 2018 Breeze has been put onto the Website and so you can send the link to friends and family and they can see it all. The 2017 Breeze is also there. Be sure to learn all about our wonderful environment in the Nature section of the website – particularly the Leopard and the Other Animal Camera Trap Blogs. Don’t forget to also check out the Rooiels Wildlife Facebook page. There is a really delightful video (The Penguin Song – Alison Scott on U-Tube) you should be sure to access. Ali and John worked with children in Kleinmond, Mooi Uitsig and Pringle Bay to produce artwork and dance to illustrate their song about the importance of minimising the use of plastic and saving our penguins. It is a treat. Be sure to listen and watch. Just click any of the links above (where it is underlined and in blue) and you will go directly to the photos, articles, music etc.
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There is a range of information on the fire but it is not always easy to get the latest. You can get updates on the Fire from the Greater Overberg FPA facebook page. Or on the Overstrand Municipal Facebook page. There is usually a post each day around lunchtime with information given on the extent of the fire, the current R44 status and the organisations involved in fighting the fire. Occasionally there are some interesting extracts on what has happened while working on the fire and the significant difficulties faced with the wild wind shifts in both direction and speed and then in some places the fire creeps underground in the spongy turf and then pops up elsewhere when the crew had thought it was controlled. The crews have been magnificent, worked together tirelessly and have managed to save the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens but much of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve has been devastated. To give an idea of the scale of operations, on Tuesday 8th January there were 92 firefighters, 6 Helicopters (3 City of Cape Town and 3 Overstrand and Cape Winelands) a Working on Fire Spotter plan and 2 fixed wing bombers. The agencies involved included: Overstrand Municipality, Overberg District Municipality, City of Cape Town, CapeNature, Working on Fire, NCC Environmental Services, Volunteer Wildfire Services, Greater Overberg FPA, Limitless Fire and Winelands FPA, Cape Winelands, Betty’s Bay Community Volunteer Fire Fighters, Pringle Bay Community Volunteer Fire Fighters, as well as various NGOs and other public support organisation. Earlier support was also given by the Helderberg Fire Watch, Overberg Wildfire Volunteers, Gordon’s Bay Fire Watch and WSAR To give an idea of the scale of operations, on Tuesday 8th January there were 92 firefighters, 6 Helicopters, a Working on Fire Spotter plane and 2 fixed wing bombers. The agencies involved included: Overstrand Municipality, Overberg District Municipality, City of Cape Town, CapeNature, Working on Fire, NCC Environmental Services, Volunteer Wildfire Services, Greater Overberg FPA, Limitless Fire and Winelands FPA, Cape Winelands, Betty’s Bay Community Volunteer Fire Fighters, Pringle Bay Community Volunteer Fire Fighters, as well as various NGOs and other public support organisation. Earlier support was also given by the Helderberg Fire Watch, Overberg Wildfire Volunteers, Gordon’s Bay Fire Watch and WSAR There are some interesting posts including a timeline series from Sullivan Photography with their description of what one crew was doing above Harold Porter Gardens: "High up in the mountains with no additional resources, crews use special Beaters and Rake hoes to work the line - Some refer to this as ‘High Speed Gardening’... It is one of the most gruelling tasks of any wildland firefighter, facing dangers of falling rocks in steep terrain, localised wind shifts, ash pits, fatigue, dehydration, all the normal dangers of fire phenomena and one of the most unexpected but common factors - Cold! It gets cold when the sun drops and after resting for a few moments, the chill of the wind and altitude set in. This particular Hotshot crew from the NCC spent 24 hours on the mountain that night - 05/01/19 A BIG THANK YOU to all of the Firefighters and their support teams, Law enforcement, the Volunteers who kept everyone fed and to the public who continue to show their support by both donating and assisting where possible. " There is also an interesting article in the Daily Maverick written by Tony Weaver on how their house survived the fire The Kogelberg Nature Reserve complex incorporates the critically endangered Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos. This Kogelberg Nature Reserve Fynbos should burn every 17 years. The Fynbos burning now is only between 8 and 12 years old. This is devastating for Fynbos species, and their ability to recover.
The Vulnerable Marsh Rose (Orothamnus zeyheri) is just one of the species now threatened by the fire. Fynbos is a fire-adapted vegetation and is dependent on appropriate fires for its survival. Fire drives this cycle, and at appropriate intervals it stimulates re-sprouting and seedling recruitment which leads to better species diversity. However, an increase in fire frequency causes the structure and composition of fynbos to change and leads to the potential loss of species. The ideal fire frequency in the Kogelberg Nature Reserve Complex is 17 years. Not only is the flora compromised by these fires, but the fauna has been affected with loss of shelter and food. Furthermore the Boland Mountain Complex is classified as a strategic water source area, it provides good quality water for the Cape Metropolitan Area. Intense and too frequent fires can decrease the rate of infiltration by destroying the litter and organic layers in the soil resulting in run-off and less water entering the dams Not only are the ongoing fires a threat to the environment but there is a chance that they could spread to the agricultural area in the Elgin basin and to the Steenbras Dam plantation. The image below shows the fire in orange but taken on 5th January before the fire had spread throughout the reserve. |
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