The Contractor has started and arrives in a bakkie, which he parks near the fire break. His employees, wearing bright orange T-shirts, can be seen walking up through Glencairn Heights.

This is expected to take a number of weeks.  Should you have any questions or problems you can get hold ofLloyd Walters, the manager, who lives at Gordon’s, but also has an electrical business.  His cell phone number is 082 492 1967 and his land line is 021 782 3872.

I have told Lloyd about the Neighbourhood Watch meeting at Phoenix Lodge next Wednesday 14^th March and he will be attending, so you can all meet him.  He is splendid news!   Yesterday we had 120 Students from Fish Hoek High School doing their requisite Grade 10 environmental project and they swarmed all over Rotary, Gordon’s and the wetland, ending by using the superb Gordon’s outside eating tables and benches and their loos – a simply ideal situation, which worked brilliantly, thanks so much to Lloyd.

Cilla
GEESE – Glencairn Education & Environment Support Enthusiasts

The Volunteer Wildfire Services has a new station opening in the South Peninsula this year. This will mean faster response times to mountain fires in our area. We are inviting all those interested in joining the VWS or wanting to know more about us to come along to our information evening:

When: Wednesday 28th March 2012
Where: Meeting will be held at the 2nd Fish Hoek Scout Hall off Abington Circle, opposite Paul Greyling Primary School
Time: 19.30 hrs
Application forms will be available at the meetings.

Or come & visit our stand at the Navy Fesival 16 – 18 March.
The VWS relies completely on sponsorship and donations to operate, so if you can assist us financially that would also help as the new base does require a vehicle and equipment.

For any further info on the VWS South Peninsula, please email   southpeninsula@capefires.com

Kind Regards
Allan Roy
South Peninsula Station Manager
www.vws.co.za
084 426 4749

The City of Cape Town welcomes participation by South Peninsula communities in helping to reduce fire risk

Please get involved just a little and help make your own neighbourhood safer, by reporting any plots or street verges in your area that are overgrown or infested with invasive alien plants. If they are not cleared, they are a grave fire risk to your home and could provide hiding places  for criminals.

It will only take a moment or two of your time – all you need to do is to send an email to the council, noting down the street address of the overgrown plot or the erf number and say that you  are very concerned and ask for action to be taken urgently.   Send your emails to the City of Capetown at the following address –

John.Mathyse@capetown.gov.za (Environmental Health)

and Cc a copy to -

Gerard.Langenhoven@capetown.gov.za (Fire Safety)

The Council will then serve a notice on the landowner, demanding that they clear their land of invasive aliens and take further action as necessary. The more emails we send the better, as the council are obliged by law to log down and follow up on each individual report.

Thanks

Steve

Why not visit  the Cape of Fire website to find more information about the risks of runaway fires in our area and find out ways to become “Firewise” and learn how to make your home safer. There are also photos and descriptions of the Invasive Alien Plant Species that pose the biggest fire threat.

Ctr CLICK on the following link > > > >

CAPE of FIRE

http://www.southerncrossroads.info/capeoffire/

Under no circumstance are Category 1 or Category 2 plants such as Port Jacksons and Rooikrans allowed in suburban gardens – so if you have them, please  get rid of them immediately, as you could be reported to the authorities, who are now starting  to get serious about prosecuting offenders.

Category 1:

These plants are not permitted on your land under any circumstance and must be eradicated.

Examples of Category 2 -

Hakea (Hakea sericea)

Australian Myrtle (Leptospermum laevigatum)

Pampas Grass (Cortaderia jubarta)

Category 2:

These plants are not permitted on your land and must be eradicated, unless you have special permission from the Dept of Agriculture to have a demarcated area set aside for research or for other exceptional circumstances.

Examples of Category 2 -

Port Jackson (Acacia saligna)

Rooikrans (Acacia cyclops)

Category 3:

These plants are still permitted on your land, if already established – but new plantings are not allowed as their propagation is  actively discouraged.

Examples of Catergory 3 -

Manotoka (Myoporum insulare)

On the Cape of Fire website, we have assembled a much more detailed  “rogues gallery”  of photos and information to assist you in recognising these pests and explain something of the unsavoury background of  these “unwanted” outlaws.

Ctr click on the following link  > > > >

ALIEN MUGSHOTS

SHOW THEM NO MERCY KILL THEM NOW

.

Please get rid of any Alien vegetation around your home and report any neglected overgrown plots to the city of Cape Town. This way you can do something to help reduce the  fire threat.

.

Dear Gerard,

Thank You very much for the new boundaries to the Welcome Glen Fire Break – cut last week!  The fire-break on the South Eastern border of Welcome Glen was widened – more than its been in previous years – which is a great relief!

I regard the South Eastern border as our most vulnerable because of the prevailing fire season wind combined with the fuel load in that corner – so to have a more thoroughly cut fire break is a huge bonus – Thank You!

I sincerely hope the City will pressure the Dept of Public Works more effectively this year, to clear the land behind the fire break in the near future.

Besides greatly reducing our wild fire risk - it would also be a huge advantage to the City, by reducing the magnitude of future maintenance of the newly sharpened fire-breaks.

Many thanks again,

Clare

Clare Roy

Glencairn Fire Watch

021 781 0942

I can assure you the burn is in very good hands. Dalton Gibbs is the fire boss, supported by Working on Fire, the SA Navy, Volunteer Wildfire services, Philip Prins and we contracted a very experienced fire fighting team to do the actual burn.

Dear Louise,

Thanks for the information.

We fully understand the need to burn, and acknowledge that it is your right as a landowner to do so  in terms of the law. However we can’t help being extremely  nervous about the planned operation, as it is now very late in the year for safe burning – especially in view  of the low rainfall experienced this winter and the huge patches of uncontrolled biomass remaining on the hillside above the area you are to burn (notably Erf 1).

The clearing of Erf 1 particularly is a very sore point with us, as it seems that there has been no progress in this matter, in spite of many representations to the council by concerned residents in this regard. If all that thick bush were to catch fire there would be terrible consequences both for our valley and also for Da Gama Park.

All we can say is – please take no risks at all, especially with the wind,  have major firefighting resources present throughout, and be very, very careful. It would only take one spark!

Regards

Steve Coe

—–Original Message—–
From: Louise Stafford [mailto:Louise.Stafford@capetown.gov.za]
Sent: 28 September 2011 10:23 AM
To: Steve Coe
Cc: Sandy Barnes; Royfamily; Rob Erasmus; Simon Liell-Cock; Felicity Purchase; Phoebe Barnard; Chad Cheney
Subject: Planned controlled burn – Dido valley

Firewise

We will all have seen the terrible fires across the Bay at Somerset West and felt for the fear and loss of the residents there. Some valuable tips from the ‘Firescaping Your Garden’ pamphlet.

• “Within the entire area extending at least 10 meters from the home the vegetation should be kept lean (ie small amounts of flammable vegetation) and regularly maintained.
• Keep the area clean, don’t let dead vegetation or other flammable debris accumulate. Remove dead branches or leaf litter.
• Trees should be de-limbed well above the height of ground vegetation.
• Group shrubs and trees in small clumps or islands, with plenty of space between clumps.
• Remove any branches overhanging the roof and any vegetation or flammable material that can act as ladder fuel (eg leaf litter accumulating in gutters, fine leaved shrubs, climbers.)”

Volunteers needed

The Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) plan to set up a dedicated base for the Far South for a faster reaction to wild fires in our area.  They are asking for volunteers to train not only as fire fighters, but in logistics, planning, control and driving. If you feel you might be able to help, please contact Allan Roy on 021 781 0942.

Dear All,

The Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) plans to set up a dedicated base for the Far South to provide faster reaction to wild fires in the area.  Many of our mountains have not seen fire since 2000 – there are large areas that could burn - so we need to be prepared for it in the next fire season.

To achieve this, we need volunteers who are prepared to be trained to man this new Far South base in various areas:

We require people to run the logistics, planning,control and driving and people who are physically fit who could be trained as fire fighters – without a full team we cannot fight fires.

All training will take place at the existing Newlands Base during the next 6 months - to be ready for the official fire season that begins on the 1st November.

The VWS relies completely on sponsorship and donations to operate, so if you can assist us financially that would also help as the new base does require a vehicle and equipment.

For more information on the VWS, visit our website on: www.vws.co.za

Don’t worry that the dates for the recruitment meetings posted on the website have already past, but we are extending the application time for the Far South to accommodate a new base.

If you are interested in either joining or supporting or know someone who might, please reply to this email.

Kind regards,

Allan

Allan Roy

Volunteer Wildfire Services

allanroy@polka.co.za