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Walter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
MASVINGO Province has so far lost 10 000 hectares of land to veld fires, as Zimbabwe approaches the end of the fire season. The fire season starts from July 1 and ends on October 31 annually. Environmental Management Agency’s Masvingo provincial manager Mr Robson Mavondo said despite a decrease in the number of veld fires reported in 2016, the province had seen a surge of the incidents this season. He said there were no casualties in all the infernos.

“Since the beginning of the fire season on July 31, 10 000 hectares of land has been destroyed by veld fires,” he said. “This is despite the fact that in 2016, Masvingo had an 82 percent decrease in incidents of veld fires.” Mr Mavondo said the province had too much biomass; hence its susceptibility to veld fires, with Gutu recording more cases than the other districts.

“Following the heavy rains that the province received between January and March this year, there has been a lot of biomass,” he said. “When there is too much grass, the chances for fire breakouts are high. Veld fires have also destroyed Zesa poles, causing power blackouts in Masvingo and this is also a cause of concern. Gutu has been hard hit by veld fire incidents with more than 3 000 hectares of land destroyed since the beginning of the fire season. The other six districts — Masvingo, Chivi, Mwenezi, Chiredzi, Bikita and Zaka — share the remainder, making it 10 000 hectares of land destroyed so far.”