Maintain those firebreaks. That is the call from feisty Knysna Heights resident Cheryl Long, 55, who has been using an electric saw to fell encroaching pine trees on her property.
“It’s the municipality’s job but they’re shortstaffed and their equipment is limited so it’s better we all do what we can do ourselves to support them.”
Aliens such as pines, bluegums and wattle increase the woody biomass needed to fuel a blaze and leaven it with flammable oils.
The result is a fire that burns much hotter than the typical fynbos veld fire.
The flames were 3m high when they reached Long’s half-built cottage and curled over the length of the roof, dived down the chimney and burned the architectural drawings stacked on a ledge in the lounge below.
“At least it proved that the chimney was built well,” she said, laughing.
Incredibly, the inferno left the rest of the cottage alone, rebuffed by the double-baked brick.
It was fortunate because running water had not yet been installed on the property and she and her husband, Brian, had not yet taken out insurance.
“If it had burned the cottage down we would have lost everything,” she said.
While their Knysna Heights home was facing the heat, the Longs were confronting what seemed like certain death up in Eastford where they were staying with friends while their cottage was being built.
The fire came so fast that they had time to grab only a few of their possessions before leaping into their car to make their getaway down the Simola road. It was a scene from hell, she said.“The trees either side of the road were burning and crashing down onto the road.
“It was just this tunnel of yellow flame and I was sure our tyres were going to blow any moment. Brian was more worried about the fuel tank.
“The heat was so intense, even inside the car, that Brian’s sunglasses melted on the dashboard.
“I phoned our son Dylan in Germany because I really thought this was the end.
“He was playing golf and I was trying to explain and to say goodbye and he said, ‘hang on, Mom, I’ve got to play a shot’.
The Longs made it down to Waterford Drive Island Church where Brian was the pastor. They were then offered accommodation in a home on Thesen Island, she said.
“Looking back at the town from there, the fire was coming down the hills like lava and now and then a car or a gas canister exploded. It was like a war zone.”
Long pointed out how indigenous keurbooms were sprouting in the area razed by the fire.
The fast-growing Rhys crenata hedge, also indigenous, that she had planted to create some privacy, was also growing in the fire zone.
Apart from calling for firebreaks and steps to control alien growth, she said she hoped that history would also play a role – the previous great fire in Knysna occurred 149 years ago, in 1869.
“I’m hoping it’s cyclical and we’ve got a long way to go until the next one,” she said.