Huge Fire Hits Rocklands - South Africa

29th January, 2013

This has been read 6,403 times

Reported on Climbing.co.za is a huge wildfire that has spread across the Cederberg area destroying houses, killing a farmer and devastating vegetation and wild life.

The Rocklands © Nick Brown — The Rocklands
© Nick Brown

The report by JP Du Plessis says:

"Over the course of the next eight days the fire spread slowly and eventually made its way past Heuningvlei, into the Rocklands area. The fire swept through the climbing zone, where it is still burning in places, devastating vegetation throughout the reserve."

The news was later updated with:

"The fire is mostly out, but Rocklands is among the 500 square-km of land that's been burnt clean. The horizon is clear of smoke and we are now able to start tallying the damage in detail...

...As for the fate of Rocklands: that depends entirely on Cape Nature. They have shut down some areas because of "extreme eco-sensitivity" in the aftermath of some of the fires, I have yet to get word on what will happen with the climbing zone."

Full report and photos: Climbing.co.za

This post has been read 6,403 times

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Comments

Trangia

29 Jan, 2013

That's bad news particularly the loss of at least one life, loss to wildlife and loss to property. I know the area well and was staying on Pahuis Farm this time two years ago. Also gutted to hear that parts of the beautiful and historical community town of Wuppertal have been destroyed. Bush fires are common in SA at this time of year. The year before I was in Cape Town when much of Table Mountain was swept by fire resulting in the death of a British woman hiker, and property damage. However nature recovers very quickly and the fynbos grows back strongly within a year or so.

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