The City of Cape Town would like to inform residents that the recent Rietvlei wildfire at the Table Bay Nature Reserve has not had a negative impact on the Reserve ecologically. During the fire, only vegetation was burnt, which mostly included reeds, sedges and grass sections. The fire has reduced the excessive biomass in this area, which mitigates the risk of future fires.

‘The City’s Biodiversity Management team at the Table Bay Nature Reserve has been monitoring the site for any further fauna casualties, but not much has been discovered to date. We believe that the fact that the fire burnt slowly and that there were sizeable escape routes mitigated a lot of harm to fauna as many creatures could get away in time.

‘This Rietvlei fire is another example of a great catalyst for speeding up ecological restoration. A big advantage is the fact that very old senescent reeds and grasses were burnt, which should give rise to new growth. This catchment area receives nutrient rich water, so the new reed growth should aid a lot better with regards to water filtration. The fire also reduced the excessive biomass, which mitigates the risk of future fires,’ said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews

The majority of the Rietvlei fire occurred in the Cape Lowland Freshwater Wetland vegetation area. This area will soon be flooded due to the substantial rain. It will therefore not be possible for much restoration work to be conducted in this area. The reserve staff will, however, monitor the outskirts of the fire perimeter as this borders the terrestrial component and there might be a substantial amount of invasive alien plants germinating after the fire as well as Kikuyu grass creeping in from the urban edges.

The fire is a critical ecological driving force and good for conserving fynbos biodiversity in the long-term as the fynbos vegetation requires fire to regenerate from underground storage organs and seeds.

Fauna in fynbos are also adapted to fire. The more mobile animals and most birds are able to flee the fire front. Rodents, reptiles and many other small mammals take refuge in burrows or rocky refugia and thus avoid the fire. After the fire, remarkably few dead animals are found, but unfortunately some do die.

Once the fire was contained, a Table Bay Nature Reserve staff member even came across a Cape Dwarf Chameleon that managed to steer clear of harm.

The Rietvlei fire started in a large section of reeds south of Gill Road in the Rietvlei section of Table Bay Nature Reserve on Wednesday, 8 June 2022. The fire spread across a vast area of the nature reserve, mainly in the direction of Theo Marais sports complex, also to the east in the direction of the R27.

The City’s Biodiversity Management staff from the Table Bay Nature Reserve assisted Fire and Rescue services in containing the fire and the flare ups, which followed for the rest of the week. A final assessment was conducted at Rietvlei yesterday, 13 June 2022 after which the last of the Fire & Rescue crews were released as substantial rain started falling.

‘I would like to thank the City of Cape Town team and all partners involved for the hard work they displayed on the frontline and for their commitment to monitoring the area once the fire was contained. Their management was meticulous and ensured that each flare up afterwards was attended to swiftly before spreading further,’ said Alderman Andrews,

Caption: A Cape Dwarf Chameleon that managed to steer clear of harm.

Source: City Of Cape Town