Media Release: Is the Garden Route better prepared to deal with disasters? Yes it is!

29 October 2024

“The June 2017 wildfire disaster, which caused immense damage to Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, and surrounding areas, served as a rude awakening for Garden Route residents and authorities alike,” says Cobus Meiring of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF).

A recent open-air expo at Wilderness, featuring all relevant entities involved in firefighting and fire management in the Garden Route, showcased an impressive array of regional firefighting assets.

The Garden Route is fortunate to have world-class firefighting equipment, highly trained personnel, early warning systems, and a fully functional disaster management centre, which has repeatedly proven effective in managing not only wildfire events but also a wide range of serious disasters.

Awareness of fire risk among Garden Route communities has increased significantly since the Knysna wildfire disaster. Residents outside the urban edge are generally making serious efforts to ensure their properties are protected with fire breaks and standard precautions in place. Many residents have joined the Southern Cape Fire Protection Association (SCFPA), whose preventative measures continue to help limit exposure to wildfire disasters.

The fuel load from unacceptably high levels of invasive alien plants on the Garden Route landscape remains the biggest threat for repeat wildfire disasters, and landowners are not doing enough to reduce its expanding footprint. Outeniqua mountain catchments, previously managed under formal plantations, have not been responsibly maintained over the past five years. The exponential spread of invasive plants over large areas continues to be a serious concern.

Ultimately, the power of nature should never be underestimated. The Garden Route’s history of natural disasters serves as a reminder that the threats posed by a changing climate are ever-present, including runaway wildfires, storm surges, floods, and drought.

The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) is a public platform for environmental managers and a climate change think tank. (grefscli.co.za)

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