Silverine #1. Pink watsonia flowers are in the foreground, charred vegetation is in the background.
Earlier this year back in March, as I blogged about here and here, a large forest fire raged over much of the Cape Peninsula region of South Africa. Shortly after the fire was extinguished, my husband and I went on a hike in the Silvermine Nature Reserve, one of the areas badly affected by the fire. We found ourselves walking through a surreal, ash-covered landscape filled with charred vegetation, with occasional spared pockets of greenery.
Originally, I had hoped to hike in Silvermine every month or two after the fire, to document the re-growth of the vegetation and other changes to the landscape. However, the reserve was closed shortly after our hike back in March. The reserve was closed to protect the environment, including the recovering vegetation, and also to protect people from hazards, such as partially-burned trees and damaged buildings. However, in October a portion of the reserve was opened up for hiking again. So, in November my husband and I organized a few friends, and we went on a half day hike at Silvermine. Today I want to share some pictures from that hike with you here.
The Silvermine area is slowly but surely recovering from the fire. Animals are returning to the reserve, and the vegetation is also recovering. During our hike back in November, we found the flowers amazing, especially the gorgeous pink watsonias. There are always flowers at Silvermine, particularly during flower season, which has its peak in September and October. However, the flowers this year are the most impressive that I’ve ever observed at Silvermine during my 5 years of living in Cape Town. Because of the fire earlier this year, the flowers are more visible and stand out in vivid contrast against a charred backdrop of burned vegetation. In addition, the vegetation at Silvermine is different this year because opportunistic plants, including some flowers, are taking advantage of the extra space and sunlight.
Without further ado, enjoy some pictures of our stunning November hike at Silvermine:
Silvermine #2. Hiking amongst burned vegetation, with some green below.Silvermine #3.Silvermine #4.Silvermine #5.Silvermine #6.Silvermine #7.Silvermine #8.Silvermine #9.Silvermine #10.Silvermine #11.Silvermine #12. My husband stops to admire a watsonia flower.Silvermine #13. Up close shot of watsonia flowers.Silvermine #14.Silvermine #15.Silvermine #16. Yours truly, posing with some watsonias.Silvermine #17.Silvermine #18.Silvermine #18.Silvermine #19.Silvermine #20.Silvermine #21. A protea bush that survived the fire.Silvermine #22.Silvermine #23.Silvermine #24. The happy group of hikers, sans photographer.
Last but not least, there’s a new (non-melted) green trash can:
Silvermine #25.
Certainly, Silvermine looks very different now compared to when we hiked there after the fire in March. The landscape will continue to change as the vegetation continues to grow back.
Earlier today I wrote up a post about the recent fire on the Cape Peninsula, nearby my home city of Cape Town, South Africa. I also shared some pictures of the fire raging near the town of Hout Bay. In this post, I’d like to share some pictures of the landscape that the fire left behind. This afternoon my husband and I spent a few hours hiking in the Silvermine Nature Reserve, which was burned by the fire just a few days ago. Before the fire, Silvermine was covered in fairly thick, lush, green fynbos vegetation, sprinkled here and there with colorful flowers. However, when we walked through Silvermine today the landscape was barely recognizable. Much of the vegetation had been burned away completely, and many of the plants and trees that remained had been charred black. In between the roasted remains of the vegetation, we saw bare soil, often singed black, or accumulations of white ash. Remarkably, every now and then we would pass a patch of vegetation that had been largely spared from the fire. For example, we occasionally passed patches of bright green succulents or brilliant protea bushes, remnants of the landscape that existed before the fire. When we hiked down a small valley, we reached the edge of the fire damage. For awhile, we followed the sharp boundary that separated charred soil from vibrant vegetation. The difference between the two sides – one burned, one green – was remarkable. It was fascinating wandering through the recently-burned landscape, which at times felt like a moonscape or perhaps a view from Mars or some other planet.
Without further ado, here are some pictures of the recently-burned Silvermine landscape:
Hout Bay Fire #1. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.
For nearly a week, a forest fire raged through much of the Cape Peninsula region of South Africa. On Sunday, March 1st the fire began on the hills above the seaside town of Muizenberg, a popular destination for surfers and other beach visitors. Over the next few days, aided by strong winds, the fire spread across the mountains to the towns of Hout Bay, Tokai, and Noordhoek. These towns are all suburbs of the city of Cape Town, where I live and work. For a time, the normally busy mountain roads Ou Kaapse Weg (Afrikaans for “Old Cape Road”) and Chapman’s Peak were closed to traffic as the fire raged along them. For five days, professional firefighters and many volunteers battled the raging fire, which threatened many homes and other structures and which, unfortunately, engulfed a few buildings, reducing them to charred pieces of wood. Many people, including some of my friends and work colleagues, were evacuated from their homes when the flames ranged dangerously close. Emotions ran high as people wondered if they would still have homes by the weekend. Some of the Cape region’s famous vineyards were burned, and some historical buildings were threatened. For example, as a precaution antiques from the famous Groot Constantia Manor were removed although, thankfully, the flames on the farm were put out before the manor house burned down. The fire was mostly fought on the ground, but helicopters and airplanes fought the fire in places where ground crews could not reach, or could not reach quickly enough. Helicopters equipped with giant buckets scooped up water from the sea and from lakes and dropped the water on the flames. Crop-dusting type airplanes spread water rather than pesticides. Thankfully, the fire was finally brought under control yesterday, and the last of the flames were extinguished today.
Although forest fires commonly occur in the greater Cape Town area during the hot and dry summer months, the fire that raged this past week was unusually extensive and destructive. Here’s an infographic from News24 that summarizes the recent Cape fire:
Infographic on the recent Cape fire. Taken from the News24 website.
The fire has had a dramatic effect on the peninsula landscape. Normally fairly green, much of the mountain range now seems an alien landscape, reminiscent of Mars or the moon, perhaps. Ecologically, the fire will have a big impact on the animals, such as the baboon troops, and the vegetation of the forest. For the local fynbos vegetation, the recent fire is actually a good thing, in many ways. Many fynbos plants actually thrive after forest fires, taking advantage of the sudden room. Some fynbos plants even depend upon regular fires in order to be able to reproduce because their seeds germinate as a result of heat from the fire and chemical compounds from the fire smoke. Many fynbos plants can re-sprout after a fire. Mere hours after a fire sweeps through, the vegetation begins to grow again. All that said, fynbos does not thrive if fires occur too often, so it is still important for humans to be vigilant and not start fires accidentally. Potentially, a single carelessly tossed cigarette may have started the recent fire.
Today, my husband and I went hiking in the Silvermine Nature Reserve off of the Ou Kaapse Weg road. We often hike at Silvermine, which is usually covered in thick green vegetation. However, today we hiked in amazement through the sparse charred remains of trees and other vegetation, which were sticking up out of bare reddish brown soil and white ash. We took quite a few pictures of the recently-burned landscape, and I’ll share some of those pictures in my next post. Today, I’d like to share some pictures of the fire itself. All of the pictures in this post were kindly sent to me by Nils Backeberg, a geologist friend of mine who lives in Hout Bay. The pictures show the fire raging in Hout Bay. Thanks very much to Nils for allowing me to share these pictures here on Georneys.
Hout Bay Fire #2. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.Hout Bay Fire #3. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.Hout Bay Fire #4. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.Hout Bay Fire #5. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.Hout Bay Fire #6. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.Hout Bay Fire #7. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.
Here are some pictures of the fire being fought by a helicopter:
Helicopter #1. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.Helicopter #2. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.Helicopter #3. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.Helicopter #4. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.Helicopter #5. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.Helicopter #6. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.Helicopter #7. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.Helicopter #8. Picture courtesy of Nils Backeberg.
So, those are some pictures of the flames. Stay tuned for some pictures of the ashes in the next post!
Currently, forest fires are raging here in Cape Town, South Africa. You can see some images of the fires here and here and here. I live and work relatively far away from the fires. However, from my office today I could see smoke from the fires in the distance. I hope that the fires are put out soon since they threaten much of Cape Town’s beautiful forest as well as many homes and other buildings.
Georneys 