Dear Stakeholders,

The FynbosFire project would like to thank everyone involved in the recent fires in the Western Cape - for working tirelessly and putting in so much effort to protect livelihoods. Our deepest condolences go out to the families of our colleagues who lost their lives in the past fire season.

Our project is working closely with fire protection associations (FPAs) to raise the level or preparedness and capacity across the Fynbos Biome. Landowners, together with FPAs and fire fighting authorities, are all part of the process of adapting to the conditions of climate change.

Stakeholders of the project are also looking forward to the upcoming 6th International Wildfire Conference in South Korea, taking place from 12-16 October. Please visit their website for more information.

Your's sincerely,

Tessa Oliver - FynbosFire Project Co-ordinator

The Working on Fire programme and the Kishugu Group were saddened this past Wednesday with the death of pilot Darrell Rea and Helicopter Safety Leader Jastun Visagie during a fire suppression operation in Bains Kloof, Western Cape, on 22 April 2015. The fatal helicopter accident took both their lives.

“We are saddened by the tragic loss of a very experienced pilot and crew member and we wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to their families as well as colleagues and the firefighting fraternity at large.” Johan Heine

Darrell Norman Rea

17/06/1975 – 22/04/2015

Darrell was the Chief Pilot for Working on Fire (WoF) Aviation - where he worked for the past 8 years with an excess of 3,300 helicopter flying hours. His vast knowledge, experience and skills as a helicopter pilot was respected by all. Darrell is survived by his wife, Angela, and son, Elijah.

"Darrell was the epitome of a stable and level headed pilot, who I never saw take chances. His dry, quick sense of humour and willingness to help will be sorely missed." - Trevor Wilson

Jastun (Justin) Visagie

27/09/1992 – 22/04/2015

Jastun Visagie joined WoF in August 2013 as a firefighter where after he was promoted to Crew Leader Type 2 in May 2014, and again to Helicopter Safety Leader (HSL) in November 2014. Jastun had a passion for firefighting and envisioned himself as a pilot in the near future. Family, friends and colleagues remember Jastun as a hard working individual who was always willing to lend a helping hand. He is described as being a humble person, always prepared to encourage and motivate others.

“Having Jastun around, you were assured to have felt welcome, be sure to laugh and be cared for.” - Fellow crew member

• Life in the ashes: Rising from the flames of the Table Mountain National Park
• Introducing the FynbosFire Toolkit
• ICS training - lessons from 9/11 Twin Towers attack
• Southern Cape FPA - their challenges and successes
• A hot topic - fire season 2014/2015
• @FynbosFire in the media

This article, written by Anton Crone, was first published on 13 March 2015 - shortly after the much publicised Cape Town fires that took the southern peninsula by storm on 1 March 2015.

Fire is a rebirth for the ecosystem, without which the system winds down and dies.

"Walking through the ashes of Table Mountain National Park after last week’s monumental fire, I didn’t expect to see it as a landscape teeming with life, and yet it was. The sensation was one mixed with awe at the devastation, and wonder at the nature that has survived or is already emerging. For 5 days the fire raged through 5,500 hectares of the Cape Peninsula with strong winds and extreme temperatures making it difficult for fire fighters to control.

But as I walked between the blackened fynbos on Silvermine, I saw a rock kestrel hovering above, no doubt tracking a rodent exposed by the lack of foliage; succulent green shoots pushed up through the ash at my feet and pink proteas were poised to blossom at the end of roasted stems."

‘When we get a fire like this our instinctual reaction is to feel a lot of sadness for the loss of our flora and fauna. But this flora is adapted to burn, it needs to burn to live,’ said Dr. Adam West from the Department of Biological sciences at UCT in a radio interview last week. ‘If fynbos doesn’t burn every 15 years or so we lose a lot of species, we lose a lot of diversity from the system and the system effectively starts to wind down and die. Fire is really important. It’s really a rebirth for the ecosystem.’ Read more...

Original article posted on Africa Geographic - click here

Photo: King Protea ©Anton Crone

For the past two years, stakeholders have worked with consultants researching and preparing a set of best practice tools for integrated fire management (IFM) within the Fynbos Biome. What had originally been intended to be a biome initiative has since grown so significantly that it will become a knowledge asset and legacy of the project for IFM across South Africa. Indeed a proud moment for FynbosFire!

The messenger bag, designed especially for IFM practitioners functioning under South African law, is a one-stop shop and reference guide that can be customised to suit the unique needs of any FPA.

To support a professional service to landowners, the concept of the Toolkit unfolded as an aid to FPA managers and extension personnel to help them with the recruitment of new members, create broader understanding and to foster preparedness for extension work and meetings.

The Toolkit carries within it the *FPA Handbook, a loose leafed folder for refillable forms, awareness material and a USB flash drive containing all forms and documents in electronic format for ease of duplication. It has space for a notebook, pen, cellphone and any additional awareness material for distribution by the practitioner.

* The FPA Handbook is a manual that addresses IFM best practices, lessons learned, case studies, frequently asked questions and template documents that can be adapted for the unique requirements of any FPA within South Africa. It will also be available online.

By: Evelyn J Holtzhausen

The best-practice National Incident Management System (NIMS) & the Incident Command System (ICS) used to fight Cape Town’s recent runaway wildland fires is rapidly being adopted throughout South Africa to deal with emergencies ranging from natural and person-made disasters to managing at public events.

The system was fully implemented in Cape Town for the first time on a major scale to combat the recent fires that laid waste to large tracts of fynbos and forests in Table Mountain National Park and surrounding areas. Reflecting widespread public praise for the work of firefighters and support teams, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille said NIMS & ICS have enabled personnel, facilities and equipment from different agencies to be integrated into a common organisational structure. This level of coordination “was simply not there” when Cape Town had to fight its last major fire back in 2000, she said. 

WCDMC deputy director Etienne du Toit, who attended the MAC course, describes ICS as “the best system for managing incidents”. ICS, he says, is “flexible, modular and scalable". It enables different agencies to speak a common language and integrates all communications during emergencies and non-emergencies, such as management of major public events. “It enables comprehensive resource management. By sharing resources among different agencies, you avoid duplication and save costs. Read more...

Photo by Theo Layne - City of Cape Town

Attending an ICS Advanced Multi-Agency Coordination training course in Cape Town recently were: (from left) Hew Smithers, Working on Fire (WoF) Training project manager; Chief Fire Officer Ian Schnetler, City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue; Chief Tim Murphy, US Forest Service programme manager of USAID NIMS / ICS initiatives in southern Africa, Etienne du Toit, Western Cape Disaster Management Centre; Jan de Villiers, Free State Umbrella Fire Protection Association; and Gerhard van Niekerk, WoF.  

In the Southern Cape, other than in the rest of the Fynbos Biome, the risk of wildfires is present throughout the year - the past summer season being coupled with many fires ranging from miniscule ones to a colossal fire that affected a breathtaking 190 000ha.

"Preparedness, adequate resources and awareness plays a vital role in effectively preventing and containing unwanted wildfires," says Paul Gerber, Managing Director of the Southern Cape Fire Protection Association.

The FynbosFire project has a vital support role creating sustainability within FPAs and to improve decision support and risk management systems for integrated fire management. The project has provided beneficiary FPAs with a solid support system including among other things communication and operational equipment, training, media awareness coverage and personnel salary contributions. This had a direct and indirect influence with regards to fire fighting.

The Paardebond fire in Outshoorn (mentioned above) raged for seven days in mountaneous terrain and presented many challenges, one of which was the difficulty in communicating with ground personnel and fire fighting teams. The radio communication equipment purchased through the project played a crucial role and was certainly a necessity at the wildfire. The extension officers employed through the project contributed directly to more effective coordination and response through improved awareness created among landowners prior to and after the fire.

"As the FynbosFire project is nearing its end in December 2015, we want to thank all the individuals who made the project possible and for the growth that we as FPAs obtained through it," says Gerber.

Photo: SCFPA Managing Director Paul Gerberg (right) and Area Mangager Charl Wade (left) coordinating with Eden District Municipality

The past summer fire season made headlines with an abnormally high number of fires recorded in the Western Cape province.

We can anticipate that this is an example of what might be observed under anticipated conditions of climate change.

While news of the Cape Peninsula fires broke through internationally, the Greater Cederberg and Overberg FPAs faced testing conditions in the background, fuelled on by strong winds and high surface temperatures.

The Overberg was off to an early start when a large multiday fire hit the Riviersonderend Nature Reserve and adjoining private plantations on 31 August – the beginning of a long, demanding season.

FPAs in the Southern Cape, Cape Peninsula, Greater Cederberg and Winelands districts followed suit shortly after and continued to face what can be described as a challenging season all-round.

While the safeguarding of property is important, we should also remember the crucial role that fire plays in our ecosystem and that, without fire, there would be no fynbos. We wish to pay gratitude to all involved.

Statistics provided courtesy of Working on Fire

Social media was thrown into frenzy when in March the much-publicised Cape Town fires became an international trend. Fueled by even bigger fires in the outskirts - albeit less in the limelight – the general public was glued to their smart devices following events as they unfolded.

Social networking skills to the test, FynbosFire, along with partnering FPAs Southern Cape, Greater Cederberg and Greater Overberg, jumped on the Twitter wagon informing and educating the public about the sensitive balance between fynbos and fire, and the importance for homeowners on the wildland urban interface to respectfully co-exist with indigenous flora.

Operational Support Officers tweeted away feeding fire danger alerts, updates about ongoing fires within FPA fire management units and fire safety tips to members and the general public.

During the month of March @FynbosFire made a whopping 56 600 impressions, attracting 1 774 visitors and was mentioned 50 times in the tweets of followers.

Moreover, a spread of articles published in traditional and online media, as well as the re-launch of FynbosFire's website – now a fully functional site reporting on the project's whereabouts – shone a light on the cause and efforts going into reducing wildland fire risk in response to climate change.

If your local FPA has helped you, please spread the word. Send this newsletter on to your friends, colleagues and fellow landowners. We aim to reach every landowner who can benefit from the services of their local FPA.

Contact your local FPA for more information about their services.