Table Mountain: Controlled fires taking place on these dates
SANParks announced that planned burning will take place on Table Mountain this week. Cape Town residents should therefore not be alarmed.
As autumn approaches, planned burning will take place on Table Mountain in Cape Town this week. South African National Parks (SANParks) has announced that the controlled burning will take place below Tafelberg Road. Therefore, there is no need for residents to be alarmed when they see the fire.
WHEN?
Depending on the weather conditions, a fire management team will conduct and oversee the planned biodiversity burn of approximately 10 hectares between 2 and 4 April 2024. The team performed this annual operation last year in March.
It is set to start at around 4am. Fire crews will remain on the scene following the burn to ensure post-fire operations take place until the area is deemed safe, according to capetownetc.
WHERE?
The controlled burning will take place between the area where the same operation took place last year and the area where the unexpected fire on Table Mountain took place in December.
About 100 firefighters were fighting to contain a wildfire that flared up on the slopes of Table Mountain in December last year. Hot and windy conditions in Cape Town initially fuelled the fire, according to Times Live.
The operation should not have any impact or cause disturbance to the Table Mountain aerial cableway operations or visitors. However, SANParks issued a warning to caution cyclists, hikers, and trail runners to stay away from the trails below and on the contour path above Tafelberg Road while the burning is underway.
WHY?
The reasons for conducting planned burning in fynbos vegetation are:
- to reduce fire hazards by reducing the ‘fuel’ (dry twigs, etc.) collected in the field because of clearing out alien plant species,
- to revive fynbos vegetation that has become dependent on and adapted to fire, and
- to get rid of invasive alien plants.
Getting rid of dry, flammable material by means of a prescribed burn, will reduce the likelihood of future veldfires.
IMPACT ON RESIDENTS
SANParks said that they will keep any possible inconvenience to nearby households to a minimum during the preparatory work and burning operations.
Residents in the nearby area should close all windows while the burning takes place. Also, residents should remove any flammable items such as gas canisters from outside areas. It is also advisable to remove any laundry from washing lines. This is to prevent the smell of the smoke from getting into the items.