Picture: Eskom lines engulfed by wildfires/Facebook
By OBAKENG MAJE
Thousands of agricultural hectares have been destroyed by fire in Jan Kempdorp, Hartwater and Pampierstad. Some of the residents said the wildfires that have swept their areas, left devastation in their wake.
One of the farmers, Daniel van Wyk said their grazing land has been affected. Van Wyk further said the wildfires have also destroyed infrastructure.
“Is been a week since we do not have electricity due to the wildfires. Our animals have also been affected because the grazing land has been affected. We urge assistance from the government to ensure that the fire is contained.
“This is a run-away fire and it is difficult to control due to wind. We have not heard of any injuries either to live-stock or any human being thus far. At this point in time, we cannot estimate the losses,” he said.
Another resident in Pampierstad, Goitseone Tau, shared the same sentiment. Tau added that he sympathizes with farmers who suffered the losses.
“The wildfires have affected many livelihoods in the area. Small Micro Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) are the most affected as they continue to bear the brunt of load shedding, now this. We expect a massive amount of job losses as many livelihoods will be destroyed and food security be affected.
“It is also so sad to see the destruction of the environment and infrastructure. Even though most of the fires are being extinguished, the areas affected are not out of the woods yet. We also believe that Eskom lines are not maintained and there are no firebreaks — in high winds the lines touch and spark, causing fires,” he said.
Meanwhile, Eskom said in a statement that it continues to address power outages in some parts of Northern Cape following damaged infrastructure. Eskom said it regrets to inform the residents of the Northern Cape that, a recent incident of infrastructure damage, caused by veld fires, has resulted in power outages affecting various areas in the province.
“The affected areas include Hartswater, Jan Kempdorp, Warrenton and parts of Christiana. The veld fires have unfortunately caused significant damage to the power infrastructure, resulting in disruptions to the electricity feeders serving these areas.
“In order to balance the electricity system and prevent further complications, Eskom had to implement a temporary load rotation approach. This decision was made to ensure the stability of the local grid and avoid potential damage to the system,” the statement said.
Eskom said The estimated normalization time is at 18:00 on 17 August 2023.
“We commit to keep you updated on progress by 09:00. We understand the inconvenience that power outages bring to their customers and we would like to assure everyone that, a dedicated team of skilled technicians has been dispatched to the affected areas.
“Our priority is to assess and repair the damaged infrastructure as swiftly as possible. We thank customers for their patience and apologise for the inconvenience, while we work non-stop to restore electricity supply,” it said.
Eskom said the electricity can be switched on without notice. It said customers are therefore reminded to treat all electrical sockets and appliances as live and dangerous.
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