80 000 hectares up in flames

Thabazimbi – Sunday, 10 September, the Thabazimbi Fire Protection Association (TFPA) were informed of a fire which had flared up in the mountains of the Marakele National Park in the Limpopo Province.

With a high Fire Danger Index (FDI) of 67%, the blaze would keep fire-fighting teams busy for days. High winds and hot temperatures fanned the fire into a blazing inferno. The Department of Environmental Affairs deployed 150 fire fighters, a spotter and a helicopter in an attempt to control the wildfire.

Working on Fire (WoF) teams and volunteer fire fighters were under constant strain as the fire jumped from place to place. A helicopter assisted in the Hoopdal area as the fire threatened farms. The communication towers were at risk as the fire was declared as a runaway fire.
An estimated 80,000 hectares of land has been destroyed in the fire. Fortunately no lives or properties were lost in the inferno. 

Sunday, 18 September, the Marakele Working on Fire (WoF) teams did the final mop-up operations and the fire was declared dead by the spotter.