- Four fires within four days have City officials concerned with the environmental impact on Princess Vlei Wetland Park, a provincial heritage site.
- Last week, Ward 72 councillor Kevin Southgate called an urgent meeting with officials to try and find solutions.
- Southgate said it was time for management to take a closer look at the recurrent fires.
Four fires within four days have City officials concerned with the environmental impact on Princess Vlei Wetland Park, a provincial heritage site.
Last week, Ward 72 councillor Kevin Southgate called an urgent meeting with officials to try and find solutions.
“I am very concerned about the number of fires we’ve had in Princess Vlei the last couple of days,” said Southgate. “We’ve had extensive burns and it is very difficult to accept that it is accidental.”
Shifting his gaze from the waterbody to reeds in the distance, Southgate said it was time for management to take a closer look at the recurrent fires.
“The vlei has heritage status and I think we really need to do more to protect the it, and I’m hoping that management and officials responsible for the vlei will actually start looking more seriously at what we can do to protect this waterbody.
“Ultimately, we (should) leave a legacy that our local communities can be proud of.”
Damage to the environment after investing hundreds of thousands of rands into restoration work is simply not an option, he concludes.
“There must be either something or someone behind the lighting of these fires, which have caused a lot of damage in terms of the environment.
“As a City as well as a forum, we have spent hundreds of thousands of rands and to see that work go up in flames is very sad and discouraging.”
However, challenges include the inability to monitor the vlei that can be freely accessed from any direction.
“It is clear from what we have seen that there is no access control to the waterbody, so we find that litter pickers come through the vlei on a daily basis using the area as a sorting facility and leaving their rubbish behind.
“Also, people who are stealing copper wires . . . they use the vlei because it is very difficult to identify them in the thick vegetation, to burn wires and that could also be a cause to the starting of fires,” said Southgate.
Meanwhile, residents are on high alert as fires are reportedly started during the day and at night.
“Residents have concluded that these can’t be accidental fires because some have started during the night. The circumstances are completely different and that leads one to think that fires started at night are deliberate.
“An added concern is people who are sleeping in the bush, who would not necessarily set their own ‘home’ alight. I think most of the problems we are experiencing is as a result of people transiting through the area.”
Emma Oliver, secretary of the Princess Vlei Forum, said the recurring fires emphasize the need for approved park rangers.
“Over the past five years, we have put a significant amount of time and effort into restoration planting and working with local schools and volunteers to plant fynbos and the type of vegetation that should be found around the vlei. Restoration planting means restoring to the vlei plants that would have grown there 50 or 100 years ago, such as the Cape Flats sand fynbos that flourish along the vlei.”
The increase in fires has residents suspicious of possible arson, she adds. “Residents in all the communities are shocked and concerned by the amount of fires at the vlei and it makes people very suspicious of arson although we are not pointing fingers at anyone. There is clearly a need for improved security around the vlei and we need to have approved nature rangers who understand about nature.”
