THE FINANCIAL COSTS OF WILDFIRES
The number of fires occurring annually, coupled with the extent of their damage, totals millions, and in some cases billions, of rands and dollars.
These expenses can generally be grouped as follows :
a) Ground firefighting costs: This includes all manpower salaries and overtime, fuels, vehicle mileage, repairs and maintenance of tools and equipment, and refreshments.
b) Aerial firefighting costs: Large helicopters on standby can cost up to R 200 000 per month just to be parked on the helipad to cover monthly purchase instalments, insurance costs, and pilot & maintenance staff salaries. Added to this are the flying hour rates which can range from R 10 000 for a small helicopter up to R 40 000 for the large ones. These rates exclude the costs of fire retardants that are added to the water. Fixed wing aircraft performing C & C functions are an additional cost.
c) Administration costs: These include salaries of staff on standby, office rental, communications systems, and insurance for staff and vehicles.
d) Fire Investigation costs
e) Repairs to damaged buildings: This can run into millions of rands.
f) Repairs to infrastructure: Damage to roads, telephone lines, ESKOM power lines, fences.
g) Soil erosion projects
h) Alien vegetation removal costs
i) Legal costs for settling of accounts, and possible court cases. If a fire is proven to have started or spread from your property, you could be handed the full account amounting to millions of rand.
And here is the really scary part. If you did not have the required preventative measures in place (fire breaks, trained staff, suitable and sufficient equipment), there is a chance that your insurance company will reject your claim, requiring that you settle the amount in your private capacity, which very few landowners would be able to do short of selling their farms.
