PREPARATIONS AHEAD OF THE PEAK FIRE SEASON IN KRUGER NATIONAL PARK
The Kruger National Park (KNP) has embarked on controlled burns in preparation for the upcoming peak fire season. The organisation apologises for any inconvenience that might be caused because of this necessary action to avoid runaway fires which could lead to loss of life and damage to infrastructure. Every winter, as the dry season starts in KNP, fires are a common occurrence in the park. Fires are a natural part of the environment in KNP. The vegetation and animals have adapted to fires in this landscape and rely on fires to maintain a healthy, functioning ecosystem.
There is a relationship between how much rain is received during the rainy season, and how much grass grows in response to the rain, which then affects how much area is burned in the dry season. Fires occur when there is sufficient grass to sustain a fire, the correct weather conditions, and an ignition source.
Considering the extremely high amounts of rain during the previous wet season, KNP is expecting more fires this winter (hot dry weather) compared to last year. For the last few years, roughly 15% of the park had burned annually.
“This year we are expecting more than 20% of KNP to burn” says Abiotic Scientist, Tercia Strydom. “The park monitors and maps all fires using both ground reports as well as advanced satellite mapping techniques”, she concluded.
The majority of these burns will be conducted by the park’s Rangers both for ecological and fire safety reasons. Due to the exceptional amounts of grass in the veld, the risk of large wildfires burning later in the dry season increases.
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Therefore, the Rangers have already begun burning fires earlier in the dry season to help break up the grass loads into smaller patches thereby reducing the fire risk. In addition, KNP as part of the Greater Kruger Fire Protection Association has started implementing firebreaks around infrastructure such as camps, staff quarters, entry gates and along the Parks boundary.
By having a trained and equipped team of Rangers and using proactive fire management techniques such as burning to reduce grass loads and constructing firebreaks, KNP will be well prepared for the winter fire season.
