Fire investigation reports finds trespassers who lit a camp fire caused the blaze that burned through 5 000 hectares of land. Picture - file
INVESTIGATORS have concluded that the Kleinmond fire that cost R2 million to extinguish was caused by an out of control campfire, lit by trespassers illegally collecting wood from a government-owned pine plantation.
The blaze that broke out on January 8 burned through more than 5 300 hectares of land, after starting at the highlands of a plantation owned by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).
As many as 200 firefighters spent four days dousing the wildfire that damaged 10 other hectares of commercial fynbos and a nearby farm.
On Wednesday the Overberg District Municipality released the findings of a fire investigation headed by Advanced Wildland fire investigator Rob Erasmus.
The report stated, based on inspections at the scene, photographs taken, and witness statements that the fire was the result of a campfire that got out of control.
The investigating team found cans of tinned food, charred remains of chainsaws and other materials that led them to their conclusion.
“On the evening of Friday, January 7, a group of people who were trespassing on DFFE property and who had been illegally cutting and collecting wood made a campfire for cooking and possibly other purposes,” read the report.
“At a time most probably after the sun had set, the fire ignited vegetation upslope and downwind of the campfire. The people who had made the fire were unable to extinguish it and departed the site, leaving the chainsaw tools behind.
“The cause of the fire is regarded as being the result of negligence by people who were trespassing on DFFE property illegally collecting wood, making a campfire that got out of hand.”
Last month Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, visited the site to assess the damage.
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