Veld fire destroys grazing in the North

LARGE tracts of farmland in the Uukwambi and Ondonga tribal areas in the North have been devastated by a veld fire that started on Wednesday evening.

The land is in the Uuvudhiya constituency of the Oshana Region and the regional councillor for the constituency, Sebulon Hango, said the fire raged in the Oponona, Oshitundu, Onoolongo and eastern Omapale areas. “I don’t know how many hectares of grazing land has been burnt but it is a huge area,” Hango told The Namibian.He said the fire was extinguished on Sunday evening.It is not known what caused the fire, but Hango called on cattle herders not to discard smouldering cigarette butts to reduce the risk of veld fires.He thanked the Namibia Defence Force, the Police and officials from the Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry and Environment and Tourism for their help in fighting the fire.”I don’t know how many hectares of grazing land has been burnt but it is a huge area,” Hango told The Namibian.He said the fire was extinguished on Sunday evening.It is not known what caused the fire, but Hango called on cattle herders not to discard smouldering cigarette butts to reduce the risk of veld fires.He thanked the Namibia Defence Force, the Police and officials from the Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry and Environment and Tourism for their help in fighting the fire.