Hundreds of thousands of hectares were lost to veld fires last year as the country experienced one of the worst fire seasons in years. Livestock burnt to death, infrastructure was destroyed and human lives were lost.

Malcolm Proctor, Free State provincial fire advisor for the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries says there is another, often forgotten consequences of fires such as these – namely food security:

Thinus Steenkamp of the Free State Umbrella Body for Fire Protection Associations says any land owner is subject to specific laws regarding the prevention of veld fires:

Commenting on a massive veld fire in the vicinity of Harrismith this over the Women’s Day long weekend, Steenkamp says if it was not for the efforts of farmers, the fire would have jumped the border into KZN:

Proctor meanwhile says international research indicates that 95% of fires are caused by human negligence:

He says challenges facing those who are trying to prevent and contain fires range from people burning on inappropriate days, lack of or poor fire breaks and limited access to fire-fighting equipment to municipal service delivery issues such as failure to burn municipal dumps. His advice to anyone intending to burn is to make sure it is safe before you start.

Infographic compiled by MJ Lourens. If you're unable to view the infographic, click here.