- A veld fire has left a trail of destruction in and around a small Northern Cape town.
- Several houses have been burnt down, and farmers have lost cattle.
- The fire is spreading toward neighbouring towns.
A veld fire, which began on Wednesday and continued to burn in and around the small town of Daniëlskuil in the Northern Cape, has caused extensive devastation. Numerous houses have been destroyed, and livestock on nearby farms have perished in the blaze.
The local farmers were deeply distressed as the fire's reach extended to cover roughly 40 kilometers. Despite no reported fatalities, the fire remained uncontained as of Saturday evening, raising apprehensions about its potential expansion towards neighboring towns such as Delportshoop, Warrenton, and Olifantshoek.
A farmer in the area, Bontie Viljoen, said the fire has destroyed thousands of hectares, and people have been left homeless after flames engulfed their homes.
"It is absolute chaos. Cattle have died. Some were badly burnt, and others had to be shot. In some cases, farmers lost all their land," he said.
"This fire has been out of control since the beginning, and it is only getting worse."A farmer in the area, Bontie Viljoen, said the fire has destroyed thousands of hectares, and people have been left homeless after flames engulfed their homes.
"It is absolute chaos. Cattle have died. Some were badly burnt, and others had to be shot. In some cases, farmers lost all their land," he said.
"This fire has been out of control since the beginning, and it is only getting worse."
Another local, Lani de Klerk, said there was considerable damage to several farms surrounding the town.
"A well-known guesthouse lost some of its rooms in the fire, and another farmer lost his whole house. Things are looking really bad for them," she said.
She added:
It makes me incredibly sad to see the town burning like this. Apart from the farms and cattle, I am thinking about all those animals in the veld. It's horrible that nature is burning right before our eyes.
Werner Strauss from AfriForum in the Northern Cape said the past week's persistent strong winds caused the fire to get out of control quickly.
"The wind is the main problem at the moment, and that is the bushveld area. The grass is dry after winter, and that is the perfect recipe for a fire. The smoke is dense and you can barely see anything. It's bad, it's really bad."
A disaster management specialist at AfriForum, Tarien Cooks, said in this situation, the flames could move at approximately four kilometres per hour and reach heights of between five and 15 metres.
Cooks explained that the weather conditions hampered firefighting efforts.
"The wind is strong, the heat is extremely high, and the humidity is low. You would basically have to wait for the weather to change before you can effectively fight the fire," she said.
She added that the slight rainfall on Saturday afternoon was not enough to help with the fire.
"The weather predictions show similar weather conditions for the next few days," she added
Attempts to reach Northern Cape's disaster management and fire service were unsuccessful. Their comments will be added once received.