With the winter coming to end, and all grass being withered, the Kruger National Park will implement its annual land management tool which is to set fire to the dry grass so that come September, new grass could sprout in its place.
The Kruger National Park announced its management plans for the current fire season which usually takes place between June and October. As part of the Savanna biome, KNP is dependent on fires to maintain a healthy ecosystem and veld-fires are a natural and a common occurrence in the KNP.
“Last year, nearly 20% of the Park burnt due to very high amounts of grass which accumulated as a result of the high rainfall experienced during the 2020/21 summer months. For the last few years, less than 10% of the KNP would burn on average,” explained KNP’s Abiotic Scientist, Tercia Strydom.
She said that following another year of substantial rainfall in KNP, they were anticipating another year where approximately 15% or 300 000 hectares of the park to burn and most of these burns would be part of their controlled burning programme conducted by Rangers.
“However, we do also anticipate the likelihood of unplanned fires in the coming months, but these will be managed as they occur by our trained and equipped personnel,” said Strydom.
She explained that the proactive use of fire in a fire-driven landscape such as the KNP was important to limit the risk of large and unwanted wildfires later in the dry season.
As such, the Kruger has already begun burning early-season fires to break up the grass layer as well as burning and grading firebreaks around key infrastructure such as camps, staff facilities, and the KNP border to reduce the risk of unwanted fires.
“We encourage tourists to be fire-wise when visiting the park. Only make fires in designated braai areas and do not leave them unattended, especially on a hot, windy day. If you happen to drive past a veld fire in the park, please drive slowly and put on your lights if visibility is obscured. If you suspect that a fire is unattended and do not see personnel on site, please report to the nearest camp and Section Ranger.”
