Smoke from the fire could be seen around the Wild Olive Estate area on Monday afternoon, however, before the situation worsened, some much-needed rainfall put an end to the fire. 

Runaway veld fires ravaged the Free State in late October 2020, resulting in millions worth of damage to land and livestock, notably in the Hertzogville and Hoopstad areas, where approximately 100 000 hectares of land ended up being damaged.

It was reported at the time that the October 2020 fire broke out during protests by local residents of the township over water issues, beginning on the R708 with the flames spreading quickly in the direction of Dealesville, Bultfontein, and Hoopstad. One Hertzogville farmer lost approximately R900 000 in livestock and incurred R3 million in damage to property on his farm. 

In reaction to the devastating fire, the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture called on Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, to declare the areas in the Free State and Northern Cape ravaged by the veld fires disaster areas. The committee went on to praise farmers and farming communities at the time for saving lives and ensuring that there were no human casualties, and for acting swiftly to prevent further devastation.

OFM News