Avoid Starting Veld Fires

The winter season is upon us. The grass and leaves are drying, making it easy for the spread of veld fires.

A cloud of smoke from a veld fire is not only harmful to the environment; it is also disruptive for motorists on the road.

To avoid starting veld fires, residents need to heed the following safety tips:

• Smokers to stop throwing lit cigarette butts away – this seems to be a common practise in cigarette-smoking motorists. 
• Glass can magnify the sunrays and start a fire, so don’t leave them on dry grass.
• Avoid overgrown, dense and dry vegetation next to dwellings; they pose danger to the structures.
• Do not use flammable liquids to burn items such as trash, vegetation or waste.

In an instance where there is a veld fire, residents are discouraged from trying to put the fire out on their own, but to rather alert the City’s fire department through the Emergency Services call centre on 011 458 0911.