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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau

More than 100 hectares of forest were on Saturday evening destroyed by a veld fire that broke out at Tuli National Park along the Zimbabwe and Botswana border.

The fire, whose cause is yet to be ascertained, reportedly affected the larger part of the park which is part of the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area made up of national parks in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

It is reported that the fire started on the Batswana side before rapidly spreading to the Zimbabwean side.

Sources close to the incident said the fire which broke out around 7pm was only contained early on Sunday by Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) rangers and communities mostly from the Beitbridge West and the Gwanda South constituencies.

ZimParks spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo said reports on the harm of human or wildlife were still being compiled.

“We have managed to contain the fire with the assistance of community members and we are grateful for their timeous intervention,” said Mr Farawo.

“At the same time we are still conducting investigations into the cause of the fire.

“We also want to urge community members to avoid starting such fires which are a threat to environmental conservation and the ecosystem”.

So far the country has recorded an 85 percent increase in vegetation destroyed by veld fires this year since the start of the fire season at the end of July in comparison to the year 2020. It is reported that 408 366,97 hectares have been destroyed compared to 220 778 hectares last year.

Some of the known causes of veld fires in the country include land preparations during the farming season, panning, hunting, smoking out of bees, motorists starting fires along the highways and improper disposal of cigarettes.