Prevent The Spread Of Field Fires

Click here to download and view a handout that explains firebreak management.

Fire poses a huge risk to any commercial farming operation. A citrus orchard that has taken a long time to become established and productive can be seriously damaged or destroyed in a short space of time. Procedures must therefore be in place to prevent fires from spreading.

A firebreak also referred to as a fireguard, is a strip of land that has been cleared of trees, bushes, and any other combustible material in order to prevent a fire from spreading.

The firebreak forms a boundary around orchards that is able to hinder a runaway fire. However, a firebreak cannot stop every veld fire and it is possible that a fire can jump a firebreak under very windy and dry conditions. A firebreak is however useful to stop most fires, to provide a line from which to combat fire by back burning and to protect property. Roads between orchards form natural firebreaks.

Building Firebreaks

Click here to view a video that explains how fire breaks works.

All landowners are required to prepare firebreaks on their side of a boundary between two farms, and it is good practice to have firebreaks anywhere on a farm where orchards neighbours natural vegetation.

There are general guidelines that must be followed when preparing firebreaks, being:

• The firebreak must be wide and long enough to have a reasonable chance of stopping a veld fire.
• The firebreak must not cause soil erosion.
• The firebreak should be reasonably free of inflammable material.
• It is advisable for farmers to remove protected plants from the path of a firebreak before undertaking the building of a firebreak. These plants must be transplanted where possible.
• The method used to prepare a firebreak depends on the conditions around the orchards, and on the equipment that is available. Grading and burning are the most common methods used.

Burning

Burning is most often used in combination with slashing. The vegetation is slashed and kept short to keep the flammable material to a minimum. As winter approaches and the threat of veld fires increases, farmers may then burn this area to further reduce the flammable material. In some cases, the herbicide is sprayed on the slashed vegetation before it is burnt.

Tall, uncut vegetation is not often burnt on a farm, as this can cause a runaway fire in itself. The vegetation must be reduced to a minimum through slashing and using herbicides before it is burnt.

If the firebreak is to be burnt on a border with a neighbouring farm, it is good practice to contact the neighbour to agree to burn on mutually acceptable dates. Inform the Fire Protection Association of the agreed-upon dates. Never burn a firebreak on a windy day.

It is essential that any material that might burn is removed. Any paper, rubber, grass, dead plant material, and flammable chemicals must be removed from the area to prevent the spread of fires.

Grading

Grading is generally used to make dirt roads on farms and can also be used successfully to level and compact the soil around orchards to form firebreaks.

It takes longer to make a firebreak through grading than through burning, but it is safer to use this method, especially where the firebreak is between an orchard and natural vegetation.

Remember

• Fire poses a great threat to all farming operations.
• A firebreak, or fireguard, is a strip of land that has been cleared of trees, bushes, and any other combustible material in order to prevent a fire from spreading.
• Grading and burning most commonly make firebreaks.