adminA FIRE break also known as fire guard is a gap in vegetation that acts as a barrier to stop or slow down the progress of a wild fire. It can occur naturally, for example, a river, but most of the fire breaks are made by man. A fire break can be constructed in a number of ways, such as grading, ploughing, disking, hoeing or even burning.
However, when you construct a fire break by burning, certain precautions to avoid wildfires have to be taken into consideration,
only burn during the prescribed period for burning,
no fires should be started during a high fire rating period,
pay attention to weather conditions such as wind speed and direction,
also pay attention to terrain and vegetation, and
have enough manpower to prevent the fire from spreading.
A fire break must be long and wide enough to stop a veld fire.
18 metres is the recommended width of a standard fire break. It should also be prepared in such a manner that it will not cause soil erosion.
A good fire break will protect the flora and fauna that may be affected by fire, it protect pasture, as well as forests and plantations from bush fires.
Online Reporter