Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
A FAMILY from Lusulu, Binga in Matabeleland North was left without shelter after a veld fire that emanated from nearby Chirisa National Park burnt down five huts, a granary and five goats.
Children were alone at home when the incident happened on Wednesday morning.
No one was injured.
This comes as the province has lost 230 420 hectares of land this year alone compared to 88 275 hectares burnt during the same period last year.
Binga District Development Co-ordinator Mr Land Kabome said the Lusulu family had a fireguard around its homestead but it probably was not wide enough.
“Mrs Khaliwe Tshuma-Bhebhe of Malundu Village, Siampute 25 under Chief Sinamagonde in Lusulu area had her five huts and a granary burnt. Everything inside was destroyed. Also five goats were burnt. The fire emanated from Chirisa National Park and the houses were burnt around 11am while the elders were not at home,” said Mr Kabome.
Veld fires have been raging lately across the country and in Matabeleland South, 10 people died after being burnt, some of them beyond recognition, while trying to put out a veld fire at Rose Farm in Esigodini on Monday.
Giving a veld fire status report for Matabeleland North, Environmental Management Agency (EMA) provincial Environmental Education and Publicity Officer Mrs Mildred Matunga said Lupane and Hwange were the worst affected districts, especially in resettlement areas and game parks.
She said the causes of veld fires are mostly suspected poaching activities, clearing land for ploughing, and smoking out bees.
The annual fire season started on July 31 and ends on November 30.
A fire risk assessment done by EMA prior to the fire season to identify fire risk zones in the country revealed that 22,8 percent of the country is in the low risk category, 74,8 percent in the medium to high risk and 2,4 percent in the extreme high risk category, which Hwange and Lupane fall into.
In Lupane the most affected wards are 24, 25, 26 which cover forest and wildlife areas as well as A2 Resettlement areas.
In Hwange fires have been a challenge in ward 1, 18 and 19 which are also game parks, forest and A2 resettlement areas.
A Chronicle news crew observed serious veld fires along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway in Hwange and Lupane over the weekend.
Environmentalists in Hwange district have also teamed up on a monitoring exercise where they alert stakeholders once a fire is detected.
Mrs Matunga said the environmental agency had come up with a localised fire management strategy to combat challenge of veld fires.
“Matabeleland North was one of the provinces rated as highly exposed to veld fires with Hwange and Lupane falling in the extreme risk category.
The fire risk predictions highlighted above therefore led to the development of comprehensive and robust strategies to address veld fires.
“One such strategy was the Village Fire Management Model, a community-based and people-centred approach that seeks to reduce biomass through fireguard construction, hay baling and thatch grass harvesting, hot ash pits construction and accelerated awareness in the target districts and villages,” said Mrs Matunga.
She said EMA supports villages with firefighting equipment that include fire cans, fire beaters, sickles for thatch grass harvesting and bee hives for bee-keeping projects.
Mrs Matunga said the province piloted the strategy in Chimwara Village in Lupane’s Ward 25.
The programme has been a success as no fire has been recorded in the village.
“It is pleasing to note that to date the village has not yet experienced any fire incident as opposed to previous years when it recorded fires annually.
The idea is therefore, to replicate these village fire management models to other fire hot spot villages.
“We are still in the fire season which started on 31 July and ending on 30 November and even with the fall of the first rains in other areas.
We are therefore calling upon all citizens to desist from starting fires as these can easily spread due to the dry biomass and the windy conditions being experienced,” said Mrs Matunga.
Police have urged members of the public to be alert and quickly report cases of fire incidents to the police and relevant stakeholders for swift action. -@ncubeleon
Londile Moyo
Bongani Ndlovu