By Refilwe Monyai.
The Western Cape is heading into another wildfire season after an estimated 132,000 to 168,798 hectares burned across the province last summer – the second-largest area burned in 25 seasons and equivalent to 2.4% of the province’s total land area.
With forecasters warning that another El Niño weather pattern could bring hotter-than-usual conditions to South Africa, the prospect of another intense wildfire season is raising concerns around more than just fire damage. As the province’s traditional four-month fire season stretches to eight months, from October to May, organisations are being urged to prepare for a threat that can travel far beyond the fire line: wildfire smoke and hazardous air quality.
“In many locations extreme heat and wildfires are intrinsically linked,” says Dr Chris van Straten, Global Health Advisor for Clinical Governance at International SOS.
“As global temperatures rise, wildfire risk and intensity increase, creating health and operational challenges that can extend far beyond the fire affected area. Smoke and hazardous air pollutants can travel hundreds of kilometres, affecting workforce members who may never be directly exposed to the fire itself.”
For organisations, this means emergency preparedness cannot focus solely on visible consequences of wildfires, such as damage to buildings, evacuations and travel disruption. The health impacts of smoke can extend well beyond the immediate event, creating a hidden risk for employees and communities, and potentially disrupting business continuity long after a fire has been contained.
“The consequences of wildfire smoke can extend beyond the duration of the event, creating health risks that may persist for weeks, months, or even longer,” notes Dr van Straten.
“Workers with respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular conditions, or other health vulnerabilities are especially susceptible. As climate-related hazards become more prevalent, organisations need a comprehensive Duty of Care framework that integrates workforce health protection with business continuity planning.”
Measuring the scale of risk for your workforce
Air quality can become hazardous even when your business is not near an active fire. Smoke particles travel on wind currents well beyond the visible fire zone, degrading air quality in cities and regions that face no direct wildfire threat.
This distance is what makes wildfire smoke a distributed workforce risk rather than a site-specific one. An organisation with no operations anywhere near an active fire can still have workforce members breathing hazardous air. Wildfire risk planning needs to account for this reach, not just proximity to the fire itself.
“Fine particulate matter in wildfire smoke can trigger respiratory symptoms and increase cardiovascular strain, with potentially disproportionate impacts on individuals with underlying respiratory or cardiovascular conditions “says Dr van Straten.
Identifying vulnerable employees becomes important, and an easy-to-implement, simple 3-step approach could be:
- Building wildfire readiness into existing wellness communications.
- Encourage workforce members to voluntarily and confidentially flag relevant health conditions ahead of wildfire season.
- Pair this with clear guidance on the support available, turning a sensitive topic into a straightforward planning exercise.
The hidden impact: Mental and emotional wellbeing after the smoke clears
When the last fire is put out, the effects still linger on. “An emergency-prepared organisation knows that invisible dangers still exist even when the immediate threat of the fire is physically removed. Supporting workforce members means addressing both the immediate physical risks of fire and smoke exposure and the longer-term health and mental and emotional impacts that can follow traumatic events” stresses Dr van Straten.
Organisations should be ready to walk this journey with their workforce and provide the necessary support, including timely health guidance during the crisis itself, resources that help workforce members build resilience once the immediate threat has passed, as well as ongoing access to a Workplace Health and Wellbeing partner for support that continues after the headlines move on.
“As extreme heat becomes a more common feature of our environment, and wildfire risk correspondingly increases, organisations can no longer treat wildfires and related air quality risk as an episodic challenge. Protecting workforce health requires a proactive and enduring approach, built on continuous risk assessment, including air quality monitoring, trusted medical advice, and comprehensive wellbeing support throughout every stage of an incident,” concludes Dr van Straten.