City advises of fuel reduction burn at Klein Dassenberg Conservation Area
09 July 2020
To reduce fire risk and remove stacked cut material following alien clearing operations in the Klein Dassenberg Conservation Area, staff will conduct a fuel reduction burn sometime between 13 to 15 July 2020 and as and when needed up until October 2020.
The City’s Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserve staff will be conducting a fuel reduction burn of stacked alien vegetation material in the Atlantis Sand Fynbos at the Klein Dassenberg Conservation Area. The conservation area is situated on the Corner of Reygersdal and Haig Avenue, north east of Atlantis.
Atlantis Sand Fynbos is regarded as critically endangered, and the City contributes to the conservation and restoration of this vegetation with the reduction and removal of the existing felled alien vegetation biomass on site. The use of fire in reducing fuel load will also reduce the risk of unplanned wildfire.
‘This controlled fuel reduction burn of the brush piles will assist the City’s Biodiversity Management team in their efforts to reduce fire risk and to restore the indigenous vegetation in this area. The City will also ensure that any invasive species that regrows on the site will be subject to follow up operations. We assure residents that precautionary measures will be taken to ensure the operation is executed safely,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Marian Nieuwoudt.
The use of fire in managing alien vegetation and reducing fire risk is critical. Ecological burns play a fundamental role in the natural fynbos vegetation’s lifecycle, but the presence of alien vegetation can increase the intensity and frequency of wild fires. Carefully managed burns of old vegetation are also necessary to obtain maximum species diversity and to reduce fuel loads, which in turn reduce the risk of wild fires.
‘The burn is planned for some time between 13 to 15 July 2020, but the actual date is dependent on ideal weather conditions. We advise surrounding residents to keep their windows shut while burning takes place and would like to thank residents in the area for their understanding and cooperation,’ said Alderman Nieuwoudt.
Staff from the City’s Environmental Resource Management Department will be working with the City’s Fire and Rescue Service and other partners to ensure that the procedure is conducted efficiently and safely.
For further information, please contact Jacques Küyler on 021 400 6300 or email Ettienne.Kuyler@capetown.gov.za. You can also contact Lynelle Matthys on 021590 5200 or email lynelle.matthys@capetown.gov.za
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
