United effort halts spread of veld fire

UUVUDHIYA – A fire that raged for three days in the Uuvudhiya Constituency of the Oshana Region, destroying thousands of hectares of grazing, was finally extinguished on Tuesday night.

In an interview on Wednesday, Oshana Regional Councillor for the Uuvudhiya Constituency, Amutenya Ndahafa, confirmed that the fire had been brought under control. Ndahafa said there were no reports of “immediate casualties”.At one stage it was feared that the fire posed a threat to people and animals in the area.The Councillor said the fire was extinguished because of strenuous efforts on the part of members of the community, the Namibian Defence Force (NDF), Namibian Police (NamPol) and Oshana Regional Emergency Management Unit (Remu).He also commended the Government Garage at Ondangwa, which provided fire extinguishers with necessary support, as well as the Oshakati and Ondangwa Town Councils for dispatching their fire brigade units to the scene.The Uuvudhiya Councillor said that the Ohangwena and Omusati Regional Councils had also helped by sending a grader and a group of youngsters.”Although thousands of hectares of grazing had been destroyed, we did well.”We managed to prevent our environment from being completely destroyed by the fire and we again saved our livestock, the source of our economy,” Ndahafa emphasised.He added that the blaze ripped through the grasslands at Oponona, Omapopo, Iilunga, Okuma, Onoolongo and Omapale, turning valuable grazing into ash.Members of the community burning fire breaks – a precautionary measure to halt veld fires – in the Uukwambi semi-desert area of Uuvudhiya Constituency caused the fire while testing the system.- NampaNdahafa said there were no reports of “immediate casualties”.At one stage it was feared that the fire posed a threat to people and animals in the area.The Councillor said the fire was extinguished because of strenuous efforts on the part of members of the community, the Namibian Defence Force (NDF), Namibian Police (NamPol) and Oshana Regional Emergency Management Unit (Remu).He also commended the Government Garage at Ondangwa, which provided fire extinguishers with necessary support, as well as the Oshakati and Ondangwa Town Councils for dispatching their fire brigade units to the scene.The Uuvudhiya Councillor said that the Ohangwena and Omusati Regional Councils had also helped by sending a grader and a group of youngsters.”Although thousands of hectares of grazing had been destroyed, we did well.”We managed to prevent our environment from being completely destroyed by the fire and we again saved our livestock, the source of our economy,” Ndahafa emphasised.He added that the blaze ripped through the grasslands at Oponona, Omapopo, Iilunga, Okuma, Onoolongo and Omapale, turning valuable grazing into ash.Members of the community burning fire breaks – a precautionary measure to halt veld fires – in the Uukwambi semi-desert area of Uuvudhiya Constituency caused the fire while testing the system.- Nampa