By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Bela Bela Local Municipality in Limpopo has confirmed that fire broke out on Saturday at Mabalingwe resort, gained momentum on Sunday with flames of up to 40 meters high.
Many houses have been destroyed, and visitors were evacuated from the resort.
The spokesperson for Waterberg District Municipality, Kabelo Mosito, said the cause of the fire is unclear.
“The firefighters from Thabazimbi, from Modimolle, from Bela Bela are jointly fighting the fire together with the assistance of the neighbouring farmers, who are actually using their private fire extinguishers.
“I can safely say it is almost under control but with these winds that are blowing at the moment is not easy but they are doing a great job,” he said.
Mosito said no injuries have been recorded so far.
Huge fires raging at Mabalingwe Game Reserve pic.twitter.com/nm4jjhaXMv
— Martin Nel (@Martin_Nel_09) September 24, 2023
The devastating fire comes just a week after a veld fire left one person dead and gutted more than 30 homes in Phalaborwa.
Also few days ago more than 40 chalets went up in flames at Manyane Resort in North West.
The Manyane Resort fire broke out around the same time as the one that ravaged Cabanas Hotel in Sun City.
Meanwhile Agri SA says at least R1 billion worth of crops and livestock were destroyed due to fires that raged in parts of the Northern Cape, Free State, North West and Limpopo since mid-August.
The most recent fire was extinguished in the Northern Cape on Sunday, thanks to much-needed rainfall.
Christo van der Rheede, Agri SA CEO, said on Sunday that at least 1.2 million hectares of land had been affected by the ongoing fires in the provinces.
“Many farmers are devastated due to the loss of grazing land and livestock, such as sheep, cattle and wildlife, burnt to death or had to be euthanised,” he said.