Africa-Press – Namibia. FARMING communities in the Hardap region have been fighting veld fires for days now..
The fires have been reported on the resettlement farm Haribes, west of Mariental, and have destroyed vast tracts of grazing land and killed livestock.
Rehoboth Rural constituency councillor Gershon Dausab, who was among the first fire responders, told The Namibian on Tuesday they suspect the fire was caused by lightning.
He added that more than 100 volunteers from the communities, the Namibian Defence Force, the police and local authorities have all made resources and manpower available to fight the fires.
“The fire is scattered all over and it’s very difficult to have teams all over. The water issue is also a challenge. I hope the governor will declare a state of emergency in the region,” he said.
He added that the other challenge is that the area is mountainous and some areas are difficult to reach.
According to him, no fatalities have been reported apart from six animals that succumbed to the fire.
Dausab warned those in the path of the fire not to attempt to fight it hemselves.
“I believe God will give us rain next week and then we will have fresh green grass for our animals,” he said.
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