Land-use and an ecological plan around the Bot Estuary.
A land-use and an ecological plan around the Bot Estuary is necessary as a first step in establishing a sound,…
Notes on fire related issues in the Fynbos area of the Western Cape, South Africa are presented below. These were more detailed reports used in Fire A natural force in the Bot Estuary area and environs. They were posted on social media as a response to questions asked on social media, by Mike Austin and add more detail to the questions asked. Mike had a good deal of experience with fires in the Natal Midlands acting briefly as the fire Chief and as the responsible person for big fires in the Underberg/Himeville and Drakensberg area many decades ago.
The following articles are included here: all notes on fire issues in Fynbos
Fire load versus fire intensity was written as a response to the disastrous Knysna fires.
Michael Austin MSc Agric
Most of the literature on fires deals with fire loads in different environments. However, a clear distinction needs to be made between fire load and fire intensity. The Knysna fires show these differences very clearly.
Knysna has been dry before and has, in the past, had severe fires with strong winds to fan the fires; it has never had such severe damage.
The natural forests of the Knysna area have survived fires through the area for thousands of years. The vegetation is partly adapted to fires. The fire load in these areas is unquestionably very high due to the very high amount of biomass (amount of material that can burn). However, the fire intensity in these natural forest areas is very much lower. The vegetation has not been totally destroyed and natural forest areas that have been burnt have recovered reasonably quickly. The old trees have obviously survived fires through their lifetimes, some for hundreds of years.
The forested areas of mostly exotic pine or gum trees have also got extremely high fire loads because of the massive biomass which is accumulated in mature forest areas. The foresters have managed to control fires in these areas for many decades. The intensity of these fires in planted plantations is obviously higher than in natural forest but have, in the past, been controlled well enough to make forestry a viable economic proposition. From personal experience of fighting fires which have burnt into plantations, I have found that they are reasonably easier to control than in mixed vegetation areas. Part of this is because all the trees are the same height and the management practices applied to plantations remove the lower branches of the trees and most of the undergrowth. In fact fires are often put into plantation areas to clean up the undergrowth without damaging the plantation trees. The most difficult fires to control in plantation areas are young trees where they have not canopied over and have large volumes of undergrowth and often residual material from felling the previous crop of trees.
The areas which have been invaded by highly inflammable exotics such as Port Jackson and the numerous other species brought into the country primarily for dune stabilisation have high oil loads. The intensity of fires in these areas is very high and keeps building up as the fire load builds up. Pine and gum trees are also present in these areas as invasive species. The distribution and nature of the canopy mixed with other highly flammable species means that the fire intensity builds much faster and reaches much higher levels than in plantations of pine or gum trees. Thus the fire load can and will build to very much higher levels than pure fynbos. Fynbos is adapted to fires and the nature of fynbos means that it has much lower fire loads and very much lower fire intensity than that of exotic species.
A measure of the area most affected by the fires in Knysna will no doubt show that the invaded areas were where the fires were most intense and therefore were most difficult to control. This would have resulted in the most damage and loss of lives.
There are many other factors in the extent of the Knysna fires: the expansion of the population, budget constraints, bad land use management and of course arson. All of these lead to a greater increase in the number of fires, more than 90% of which are caused by people. More frequent fires actually lessen the chances of a catastrophe such as that which Knysna has just experienced except where it leads to more invasions by exotic species.
Especially in the last decade we have been losing the battle against invasive species in all Fynbos areas. If invasive species had been properly controlled we could have reduced the effects of these fires by as much as two or three times. One needs to balance the costs of clearing invasive species against the cost of the damage to infrastructure and the loss of life.
Using fire as a tool to fight invasion of exotic species in Fisherhaven / Hawston area
Michael Austin M Sc Agric
Using fire as a tool in clearing very dense stands of exotics is a quick and environmentally useful tool. It produces quick results and, with proper follow-up, can start the process of rehabilitating the environment before it reaches a tipping point. When an area has been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent that invasive species now dominate the area, two main things occur from which the area may not recover:
Although fires are part of the fynbos biome and are required to keep it healthy and productive, these fires may be damaging to infrastructure.
Many calls have been made in recent years to hold owners of land which is severely invaded by exotics responsible for massive damage to other areas, when fires inevitably burn through their land. Equally, however, public land managers should be held accountable for not clearing exotic vegetation.
The local municipality is directly responsible for applying the law in clearing exotic species on land which they control.
In Ward 8 of the Overstrand Municipality (OSM) some of the most severely affected areas of exotic invasion in the whole country occur, due to a complete lack of action for years of nothing been done. This reflects very badly on a municipality which claims to be one of the best run municipalities in the country.
Natural or unnatural boundaries when dealing with disasters in the Fisherhaven / Hawston area
Michael Austin MSc Agric
Many boundaries demarcating countries, regions and even farm land or plots have very little to do with natural boundaries delineated by nature.
Timing is critical in mobilising resources to avert disasters. When natural disasters such as large storms, wild fires, such as Knysna, occur, all sections from different areas and departments are mobilised and coordinated to avert or clean up such disasters. They tend to muddle through and get things going when these disasters are large, but at what cost to human lives and infrastructure? Firstly the problem is often that it takes too much time to appoint someone to have overall responsibility; this usually only happens after the disaster has arrived or is well under way. Secondly, too much time is spent on coordinating various groups involved in averting these disasters. Thirdly many precious resources are devoted to problems of coordination, rather than to being spent directly on averting the disaster.
Smaller natural disasters are often ignored or no one takes responsibility or responsibility gets shifted downwards to persons not capable of handling it, or upwards to someone with so much on his plate that the smaller disaster gets little attention. Very often this smaller disaster then builds on itself until it becomes a bigger disaster. Smaller natural disasters are, for instance, droughts or floods. Then, of course, there are man-made disasters. The most significant is climate change, starting with the depletion of the ozone layer. This depletion of the ozone layer has been fixed by concerted worldwide efforts. Other aspects of climate change started with the Industrial Revolution. Practices we thought were fine, such as the development of fossil fuels to drive the revolution, the proliferation of petrol and diesel driven transport, the massive expansion of agriculture to feed the fast-growing population and the destruction of massive areas of forests to feed the ever-increasing demand for resources have led to such massive pollution and changes to the environment of the whole world which we may not be able to reverse.
On a much smaller scale is the invasion of exotic species, most of which were introduced for good reasons but which have expanded into vast areas. We have lost control of this expansion and are losing this battle against invasive species and are destroying our local, once-stable environment. We are dependent on the soil, plants and animals for our existence. Much has been done to correct the mistakes of the past such as dealing better with what soil we have left, making advances in food production and developing game reserves for the large game animals. But we are still running out of water. This exacerbates natural droughts, makes fire disasters bigger than they need to be and causes bigger floods with poor land management.
In Ward 8 there is massive encroachment of highly flammable exotic species which are changing the soil for the worse, destroying our natural stable vegetation (Fynbos) and eliminating our small animal population. The Paddavlei/Skilpadsvlei wetland stretches from Hoek van die Berg to the Bot River Lagoon and from the sea to the top of the mountains and needs to be dealt with as a whole. We are drying up our water resources, destroying a natural wetland and increasing the risks of massive damage to infrastructure when a wild fire burns through the area. The situation in Ward 8, particularly in the immediate environment of Fisherhaven, Hawston and Middelvlei, is very near the tipping point.. As a result, the Bot River Lagoon will be severely affected.
This is building up to be a massive disaster. In certain respects, we have already lost control. We need to deal with the problem as a whole ecosystem, forgetting the artificial divisions of different townships and Ward boundaries, old farm boundaries, private and public boundaries and erven boundaries.
All the organisations within this area which have similar concerns for the environment need to work together for the good of the whole. Our efforts, money and skills need to be coordinated for the good of all the Ward 8 communities. The knowledge and skills are available to fix our mistakes of the past; we only differ on the small details of most issues.
We spend much effort trying to allocate responsibility for the problems we have built up in this environment. This is very unproductive and leads to the problems accumulating as they have done, especially in the last two decades.
The Paddavlei ecosystem rehabilitation project which covers the whole ecosystem is a starting point to save this environment. We can turn the destruction around by removing most of the exotic species and then doing proper follow-ups to reduce the large exotic seed bank and re-establishing Fynbos. This will lead to a massive reduction in the fire risk, better conservation of our soils, re-establishing our water resources and re-establishing the animal and bird population. This stable and sustainable ecosystem will be to the benefit of everyone.
Fire and exotics re-growth
Michael Austin M Sc Agric
Huge increases in seed of exotic species in the soil result in rapid growth of seedlings in bare patches, especially after fire. The apparent greening of the veld is most often because there are exotic plants growing.
For example; the fire above the R43, just outside of Hawston, where there were Port Jacksons growing, maybe one plant per 10 metre square. The seedlings emerging now are in the region of 10-15 plants per metre square, a hundred times as many as there were before the fire. Luckily only 3 or 4 of these will grow well because they out-compete each other, therefore only twenty times as many as before the fire. But there are still enough plants that they will canopy over and completely shade out any other plants and look like the area below the R43, and the area south of China Marais Avenue. With no fynbos to even produce seeds, the area rapidly deteriorates and presents an extreme fire hazard. A similar situation has occurred on the land across Stormalong Road in Fisherhaven, where the fire load has now increased to more than twenty times what it would have been with Fynbos, both because there is much more volume of material and because the Port Jackson is much more volatile because of the high flammable oil content of the leaves. When this does burn, which is inevitable in the near future, it is an extreme hazard to the infrastructure in Fisherhaven, and it increases every year. When it burns it will probably be very dry with high winds – ideal conditions for a runaway fire. The fire brigade cannot stop it spotting fire way ahead of the main fire and the fire break of Stormalong Road becomes of little use, except to put in a backfire.
Fires in Portugal…. The ‘Hawston/Fisherhaven Fire’
Michael Austin MSc agric.
In March of 2017 I had discussions with the fire department of the OSM about the massive build up of the fire risks in Ward 8. This is primarily because of the extreme invasion of exotic species to the south of Hawston, between Hawston and Fisherhaven and to the east of Fisherhaven. Nothing has been done about this.
I warned them that we were heading for a huge disaster in this area. This was also mentioned in the report on the Paddavlei, Paddavlei Ecosystem Rehabilitation project (Austin a, 2017). This report is receiving attention from the Western Cape Government and has consistently been ignored by the OSM. The wheels of Government do however turn slowly.
Then we had the terrible fires in Knysna. These fires did so much damage to infrastructure and a great loss of lives for the very same conditions we have in ward 8. I contacted the Forensic investigator for the Knysna fires and forwarded him the environmental information I had put together for this area (Austin b,c,d, 2017). The main damage in Knysna is the invaded areas very similar to Ward 8.
Then we had the fires in Portugal with great loss of life and damage to infrastructure. The PEDRR, Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction a global alliance of UN agencies reported that these were the deadliest fires recorded in Portugal’s history. They have the same climate as ward 8 and the areas have been invaded by pines and Australian eucalyptus, very similar to Port Jackson the main invasive species in these areas of ward 8. The high fire risk was far from unforeseeable. What caused the fires could be seen as almost immaterial. The spread of the fire and risk to people is mainly a matter of vegetation flammability of the invaded species. The Australian black Saturday fires of 2009 have the same species make up as the invaded areas of ward 8. The conclusions drawn by the PEDRR about the fires in Portugal are the same as the conclusions I have drawn and reported on in Ward 8.
The argument about who owns or is responsible for each little piece of land is not valid when dealing with a potentially major disaster. This I have deal with in a report on ‘Natural or unnatural boundaries in dealing with disasters’ (Austin e, 2017).
Do we have to wait for a repeat of Knysna ‘Hawston/Fisherhaven fires’ before we do anything about the problem. We have built up this problem in the last decade by not taking responsibility in the last few years and the risk of an extreme wild fire has now become so big that action is needed immediately. Each year the risks are increasing.
The OSM, and the fire department in particular, is legally libel for dealing with fires that have been started, from whatever sources, throughout the Overstrand and are responsible for reducing the risks of fires within the Overstrand. They also belong to the Greater Overberg Fire Protection Association, which within its name and rules and regulations deals with fire protection. Knowingly allowing a major disaster risk to build up and not doing anything is a dereliction of their responsibility and a crime against the people who live here.
Austin a, 2017. Paddavlei Ecosystem Rehabilitation. Report for PEG, Hawston Development Association.
Austin b, 2017. Fire as a tool or extreme risk of damage.
Austin c, 2017. Fire load versus fire intensity.
Austin d, 2017. Comment on fire hazard proposals.
Austin e, 2017. Natural or unnatural boundaries in dealing with disasters.
Comment on fire hazard proposals in Fisherhaven / Hawston
Michael Austin M Sc Agric
It seems, from discussions with the local Fire chief, Mr Smith, that the Overstrand Municipality (OSM) only has a budget for fighting wild fires. What is being done about budgeting and training to preventing wildfires? Because of the very severe infestations of exotics in some areas, especially adjoining built-up areas in the Overstrand area, the cost of fighting wild fires increases astronomically. The chances of severe damage to infrastructure can be multiplied by a factor of four to twenty, as have the potential costs of this damage. This increases rapidly every year that nothing is done about these invaded areas.
The Knysna fires can be attributed mainly to the very high winds and lack of rain. Whether or not some of the fires were started by arsonists or by panicked members of the public is a separate issue and is being investigated. The severity of the fires in Knysna and the resultant loss of life and extensive damage to infrastructure is the concern of this article.
Much of the problem with these fires in Knysna is attributable to the extensive, recent invasions of very flammable exotic plants. There is documentary scientific evidence of this in the literature and warnings that the probability of extensive wildfires could occur. On the second day of the Knysna fires, mention of this extensive invasion of exotics was attributed to being part of the problem by fire experts. We do not want a repeat of this in our area.
In the Overstrand we should not be allowing the situation to deteriorate to the same extent and make excuses of lack of knowledge or lack of funds. That is irresponsible and the council could be held responsible for severe infrastructure damage in the near future for not heeding the warnings.
We also know that it is inevitable that these high risk areas will burn in the near future, probably under extreme conditions for fire, which we know occur frequently in this area. Timing has become critical. The problem exists because nothing has been done in the recent past. It has now become critical and we cannot delay action because the problem has become so large that no one will take responsibility for it. It becomes more critical every year that we delay. We cannot wait for another plan which is simply a repeat of previous plans, or wait for a wildfire to “take care” of the problem.
These issues were discussed with members of the Fire Department of the OSM months ago, shortly after the wild fire to the east of the R43. Nothing has been done and it would appear that the problem is being ignored once again. That last fire provided a golden opportunity in providing a grand fire break to stop an instigated fire from spreading to other areas. The three main areas of concern are to the south of Hawston, between Hawston and Fisherhaven and adjoining Fisherhaven.
The use of fire in these areas, under conditions of our choosing, is the only available tool to use. Clearing by other means is too expensive and will take too long. The cost of clearing by chopping and grubbing or use of poisons exceeds the current value of the land. Fire is the only reasonable alternative. From an ecological point of view the areas are so badly invaded that there is no Fynbos left. The germination of massive numbers of seeds of exotics after the fire is a problem that we have to deal with in the future.
Timing has become critical especially as this problem should have been sorted years ago and has knowingly been ignored. The areas need to burnt out before the hot dry summer when the risk of a wild fire, similar to Knysna, again escalates to unacceptable limits.
The above notes on fire issues in Fynbos need to taken into account when planning fire related issues. The problems need to be clearly identified, ecological management proposals can then be made to correctly solve the problems at hand. The potential damage to infrastructure far exceeds the cost of preventative measures. If these preventative measures provide a stable, biodiverse environment the costs drop significantly with time.
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