0 of 3
Thousands of hectares of land have been destroyed by weeks of fire in the Eastern Cape’s mountains and veld that came so close to Hogsback that residents prepared for the worst and tourists were warned to be ready to evacuate.
A vast swathe of agricultural land and forest in an area between Hogsback, Komani and Katberg was scorched by the wildfires.
Amathole Forestry Company chief financial officer Chris Rance said 230 hectares of timber in three plantation fires around Hogsback and Stutterheim valued at R13.2m, and about 25,000 hectares of grazing had been lost.
He said the blazes started near a community north of Balfour and spread into the mountains, tearing through communities, farms and plantations.
“This fire was enormous,” said Nadia Schenk, 30, spokesperson for the 359-member Fire Notification for Hogsback WhatsApp group.
“Hogsback could have burned right down to the ground. I was very worried that it was the end.
“Our biggest fear was that Hogsback would end up like Knysna, or worse.”
On Saturday, villages, communities, people’s lives, livestock, plantations, and the electricity grid were under threat in the morning as hundred of firefighters struggled to contain the fires, driven by an 80km/h prefrontal berg wind.
The blazes caused damage running into millions and displaced many communities.
No deaths or injuries were reported.
On Sunday afternoon, Amathole District Municipality (ADM) spokesperson Sisa Msiwa said the Hogsback fires were under control, though not completely extinguished, particularly a blaze in the Nico Malan Pass which firefighters were still trying to contain.
“There is a joint fire rescue team comprising both public and private personnel, all with one objective of working together to fight the wildfires,” Msiwa said.
“A comprehensive report by municipal officials on the of damages suffered by all affected will be shared once assessment has been completed.”
About 400 firefighters, mostly from the farming community, plantation owners and villagers, fought the blazes.
Two Amathole Forestry Company “Huey” choppers dumped tonnes of water on the fires and two spotter planes sent information to the firefighting teams.
On Saturday morning, the fire hit the popular snow-watching T-junction on the R345 to Cathcart at Bold Point, a few kilometres above the village.
The wind blew, tossing flaming darts of burning debris into plantations and forests around the village.
Alerts, based on assessed “danger to lives and health”, were officially announced on Saturday night by Msiwa, who said: “Advancing veld fires in various parts of [the municipality] which include Mbhashe, Ngqushwa, Amahlathi and Raymond Mhlaba local municipalities, resulted in communities being displaced while others are being prepared to leave their homes at a moment’s notice.
“The Hogsback community under Raymond Mhlaba municipality has been placed on evacuation alert due to advancing wildfires in the area.
“An alert means that people do not need to leave their homes but should be prepared to do so at a moment’s notice.”
Smouldering roots and stumps could flare up before the first spring rain arrived, Amathole Forestry Company director John Rance Jnr said.
“The hard work comes in the weeks ahead, which is attending to all the hotspots which would have to be cooled with lots and lots of water.”
Rance said farmers fighting a fire on the Elandsberg mountain were making good progress.
He said all of the fires “should be out by Tuesday”.
Heartfelt messages of support and gratitude were posted on Saturday night when a cold front arrived on a cool southwesterly wind, dropping the heat by 15ºC and ending the 80km/h gusts from the prefrontal Berg wind which speeds up in the mountains.
Fencing, poles and electrical networks lost would cost farmers a lot of money.
“We thought we had it under control on Wednesday, when it actually snowed on the mountains but [when we] woke up on Thursday and by Friday it was a conflagration which burnt most of the Elandsberg mountain, going through Coolin Farm and heading straight for Bold Point.”
The front — the latest in a relentless series which deluged in the Western Cape, brought instant relief in the Amathole escarpment, arriving at about 3pm and dropping the temperature by 15ºC — from 33ºC to 18ºC.
This evoked a deep relief among hundreds of exhausted firefighters in the Amathole, Bamboesberg and Stormberg ranges.
Msiwa said ADM was considering declaring a state of disaster in four municipalities.
A statement from the farming community, shared by John Rance, said: “The Elandsberg, Kolomane, Waterdown fires have been fought over six and-a-half days by about 400 personnel from the farming community.
“The farmers and their teams from Cathcart, Henderson, Thomas River, Waqu, Komani and Imvani have volunteered their services and equipment during this past challenging week.
“They brought bakkies, sakkies [bags], beaters, blowers and a determined attitude. Thomas River even brought their 4x4 fire engine ....
“Many wives and local businesses supplied food and drinks to all the firefighters.
“Mustering and deployment started at 5am and continued until late into the night with some monitoring going right through the night.
“The sense of community and communal co-operation in this district is a blessing to behold.”
Monika Hof, a community policing forum member and Jikani Community Centre board member, co-ordinated food support for many of the firefighters.
Hof worked closely with Amathole Forestry staff, helping hundreds of people.
“We had to get together to support the fire teams,” she said.
Hof collected food from community members and loaded it into her car.
“When we came to the [Amathole Forestry] offices, they were gobsmacked at how much the community had contributed.”
Mark Andersen, from Elandsberg Organic Farms and the Historic Hogsback Inn, said multiple teams of Cathcart farmers were using Sunday’s favourable weather conditions to put in additional firebreaks before next [this] week’s red fire warning predictions.
“This will protect the eastern flanks of the Elandsberg and prevent the northern fires getting into plantations and the village of Hogsback,” he said.
A spokesperson for The Edge Mountain Retreat said: “Our establishment was not close to the danger zone. Guests came to stay with us knowing the risk and were ready to evacuate if need be.
“We have the utmost gratitude and admiration for our firefighters and everyone involved who worked so hard over the last few days to keep us all safe.”
Raymond Mhlaba local municipality spokesperson Sivenkosi Mtiya said for the past two weeks the municipality had been battling fires in Kolomane, Dikeni and Middledrift.
It was receiving support from ADM, the co-operative governance and traditional affairs department, Greater Stutterheim Fire Protection Association, Amathole Forestry Company, farmers and the Buffalo City Metro.
DispatchLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.