Mel wrote:.
Would I be very far off to say that if the Secrecy Bill will be finalized by
the Upper House, that this will have an impact on Kruger management somehow at some point as well?
Amoli wrote:My feeling is that all moves have been worked out long ago.
Any changes have been planned for some time, and if we only take the hotel debakel, they know exactly how the public will react.
So - precaution measures must be put in place. I do not think that this has anything to do with today or yesterday....
the surprises are still to come in the tomorrows, and judging on the measures taken..... boy, our hands will be tied. My own opinion.
Lisbeth wrote:Hopefully they have learnt something from this disaster and have an information chain at all levels that works
The park is burning and the manager does not run to the park? He goes to bed and switches off his cell phone
Lisbeth wrote:There is no date...
"The final report of the commission of inquiry into the fire that raged through the Pretoriuskop area of the Kruger National Park (KNP) on September 4, 2001, killing 23 people and injuring 11 others, has been released. The report found that the fire was started by a person or persons unknown, in the area close to the loop road by Napi boulders.
The experimental burning carried out at the Pretoriuskop burn plots on the same day was ruled out as a source of ignition of the fire. The experimental burn did, however, contribute to the confusion when it came to fighting the fire as there was initially some assumption that the smoke seen was from the burn plot fire as opposed to a veld fire.
Other findings of the commission included the fact that the day the fire occurred was rated as the worst day in the preceding ten years in terms of high fire danger conditions that would lead to runaway veld fires. This is because the weather fluctuated considerably as a cold front moved over the park, with fluctuating temperature and humidity.
Winds varied in speed from still conditions to almost gale force conditions, with winds of up to 50km/hr. The prevailing wind direction also switched during the course of the fire, confounding firefighting efforts. Coming after the exceptionally high rainfall of 2000, there was also more grass than average standing in the veld at the time of the fire, which assisted the runaway fire.
The thatch cutters who died in the fire were in the heart of an area where the grass had been especially lush It was found that the area where they were camped had not been cleared in strict accordance with the park’s protocol for such operations. Thatch cutters from communities neighbouring the park have been harvesting grass in the park for the park’s 90,000m2 of thatched roofs for about 25 years.
The park’s fire-fighting equipment and fire-fighting training of its staff were also found to be lacking by the commission. The 106-page reported can be downloaded from the department of environmental affairs and tourisms’ website, www.environment.gov.za, in the hot issues section."
iNdlovu wrote:In terms of "the expermiment" does anyone know if the type of fire set has made any difference to the encroachment of woody vegitation, or was it an exercise which ended up as a disaster?
Poplap wrote:Good Q, iNd.
I've been reading for the last hour, trying to find an answer to exactly that question.
I found very interesting info here:
http://publicationslist.org/gssa
Have a close look at publications containing the words fire and burning.
I cannot find the link now, but there was a programme on Carte Blanche a year or so ago - a farmer from Zim who pointed out how flawed burning was - (a) due to the eradication of indigenous seeds, (b) creating a platform for alien vegetation (they are usually 'stronger' than indigenous vegetation, (c) soil erosion (as there is nothing that holds the top soil in place in dry and windy conditions, etc etc... Well, this is what I recall. :oops:
